Desperate Times
by Resting-Madness
Summary: Choosing life on the streets, Nate River soon discovered that it wasn't what he'd thought it would be. So when a kind and awkward man offered to give him a job at his home how could he say "no", especially when not knowing what came along with the "yes". Also pairs MelloxMatt.
1. How Did You Get Here?

Summary: Growing up an orphan, Nate River, chooses a life on the streets only to find out that it isn't as easy as he'd thought. Believing that a kindly, awkward man named Gevanni is sincere about about getting him off the street with a job in his home as a butler, young Nate finds himself in a very dark place.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, nor the fine city of Chicago- however butchered my version of it may be since I've never been- I also do not own any products or brand names mentioned. So yup.

Warnings: There will be very graphic everything mentioned, so if you're underaged and reading this for shame, you dug your own decision don't bring me down with you. *raspberry and thumbs down* I'll actually be watering your version down, so if you'd like to read it 'as-is' you'll please visit or its brown and cream once inside but grey when asking your age. Okay. Don't get turned around and end up at some weird site *crying* like I had when I first went there and didn't save the link.

Author's note: I'm not being graphic to be gross, I'm just making art and improving myself as a writter because hey people, I'd love to sell books for realies someday. So thank you for reading, and opinions good or bad are only seen as help. Its utterly impossible to hurt my feelings or sway my style so say whatever you like, its all good ^_^. Enjoy reading. And sorry the first chapter is so short!

...

_He must have thought I was dead. Must have thought the blood caked on my body was too much. The lazarations too deep. My slow breathing not enough to convince him my stone-still body wasn't dead. My pulse, however faint, wasn't quitting on me. He believed my unconscious dead-weight was exactly that. If he hadn't... if he knew that I were nothing more than unconscious, he never would have left me unchained from my shackles. He never would have left the door open. And he never would have left the house._

_Slowly. Slowly I got myself up from that cold concrete basement floor. I used the walls, stained with my own blood, to help me make my way to the stairs. I grunted in agony when pain shot up my tailbone, traveling the full length of my spine and slamming full force into the base of the back of my head. But that wasn't going to stop me from leaving. This was my only chance for escape. My pain could come later, and it was minor almost nothing compared to the torture that went on in that house for months._

_When I got out of the basement, the pain in my spine dropped me to the floor on my hands and knees. I stared at my outline in the polished kitchen floor; there's blood there as well. He'd know that I escaped, know that I wasn't dead after all. I hoped that I was away by then. A police station. A cheap hotel room. Even the agency that I'd ran away from in the first place was a better option than this current situation I've been bound to._

_"Get up, dammit!" I barked in my dry rasp of a voice._

_Its been so long since I've heard anything from myself beyond a drunken whimper, a moan, or the forced sexual comments asked of me from HIM._

_I couldn't go out the back, its fenced off. I saw that much through the large glass doors beside the kitchenette booth, in the thirty seconds I got to see of the home before I was whisked off downstairs into that basement for months, maybe even a years worth of torture._

_But did I question why? No. I knew why. It was because I unknowingly walked right into it under the belief that I was avoiding a much greater evil... Irony is a bitch._

_By now it must sound like I'm rambling, but, let me start from the beginning then. So you'll know how Nate River became Near. And how Near ended up where he was. Then, and only then can you decide if I belong here..._

"Wow, Nate!" Exclaims a young Mexican boy excitedly. "You're really good at explaining stuff so that I get it. My mom sure can't." Work done he gathers his things: pencils, notebooks, and homework sheets from the coffee table. "I hope I can remember all this stuff when the test comes up Friday."

The praised male is straightening up from his seat on the floor; he's been resting his weight down on the back of his legs for a good hour or so, and they are beyond numb from 'sleep' as its called. They were practically refusing to hold him up. But it was a small price to pay for the lovely reward of 20 dollars a session.

"Let your mother know that I came by Manolo." Nate says to the airspace before the front door, while walking down the hall on wobbling legs.

Watching a moment; due to thinking that his tutor is doing a great job of impersonating the Frankenstein monster, the young boy darts off the couch and into the kitchen returning with a handful of bills and a slip of paper. "I forgot, my mom told me to give you this." He dumps the contents from his small hands into Nate's awaiting palm.

Blinking owlishly at the boy along with the piece of paper, he unfolds the paper and spots 15 dollars fluttering to the floor at his one socked and one sneakered feet. Reading over the note; Manolo dropped down and grabbed the money from the floor, waving it at himself like it were a fan or he were a perve trying to entice a street walker to him, he cocks a brow.

"Looks like your mom is gonna be home late. She wants me to order you pizza." He kicks his sneaker from his foot, returning to the living room.

"Yyyay!" The little student leaped into the air, fist raised in advanced kid cheer.

Honestly, you'd think Nate just told the boy his family had won 688.5 million dollars or something with how he's leapt up onto the couch, jumping up and down on the soft cushions chanting his addiction. Pizza! Pizza! Right before starting a demo track of his order of toppings.

A smirk graced the tutors normally expressionless mouth as he called **Gianno's** from the cordless telephone on a hall table stationed at the exit of the living room that leads out into the hallway, where the front door is located. Gianno's has some of the best damn pizza in Chicago- the world, really- it even won, handsdown, in a little pizza war with New York, proving their crust and toppings far superior to that of a rival cities. And you understand that this taste war has been going on long before the first roll of crust was ever produced commercially for frozen pizzas.

Nate wouldn't really know the difference. In his entire life, he's only ever had pizza twice, and both times were when Mrs. Maldonado was going to be at work through the families usual dinner time; Manolo's father, if you're wondering, is in the navy and currently out at sea. So he would stay over with the 8 year old and indulge in the delicious taste of sauce, cheese, and toppings of a various assortment.

His Heather gray iris skimmed the yellow pages for the number, and cordless in hand he dials. "I'd like to order two deep dish pizzas, one medium with sausage and pepperoni and the other small with extra cheese and sauce." He gave them time to process what little he'd said, then spoke again. "To Staney apartment building on 24th street and Metropolis, apartment 5C." After heearing the '30 minutes or less' slogan he mutters a thank you, before hanging up.

Manolo, now properly seated but still bouncing, licks his lips in excited wait. "Will you be staying over, Nate?" He asked when able to reign in his hungered joy.

Something about the boy's accent always reminded Nate of Speedy Gonzales, that cartoon mouse from Looney Tunes. The old version, not that bizzare mockery running today. Where characters live in near homosexual relationships disguised by room mateship, and a severe co-dependency issue. But, the accent always brought a smile to the older male's, otherwise expressionless, face. Not that the young teen isn't happy, he's merely content- if you happen to find a facial expression that represents that, do send him a picture and he'll gladly sport it. Until then, placcid it is.

"I can't leave you alone, now can I?" Walking over to the long olive green couch, he sets his hands down on the male's shoulders to cease his movement before taking a seat. "How about we do a puzzle until dinner arrives?" Suggest the male, tugging a lock of his white hair to his index finger, he winds it around thoughtfully.

Manolo threw himself back against the coach as if he'd been shot and the force knocked him out, he even followed it up with an exasparated sigh. "But you're too good at them, I never get my piece in the right spot and then its your turn and then it's finished."

Nate only blinked in thoughtful response. What was he supposed to say to that? It was the truth! Riddles, puzzles, equations et cetera he's been good at solving them. He's a natural- _gifted_ if you will. It came to him as quickly and easily as blinking. If only it meant anything in the real world; no one hires a sixteen year old- well, near sixteen. More than that no one hires an orphan.

He's known 16 year olds with jobs. Girls and guys hired by family members because they don't have to worry about school getting in the way when it comes to having a job. You have it, and you do it when you can. Real businesses don't work like that, not around your schedule but around their dime. But he's not your typical teen getting cash into his pockets for a new video game, or saving up for a cheap enough car, wanting things basically. Nate needs the cash because he wants out before he's thrown out.

He's an orphan, as you've come to understand, and being an orphan you got yourself ready for certain things: sharing a room with multiple people, meals are portioned to the amount eating rather than the hunger in one's belly, and adoption families coming in to look you over and possibly take you away to a new life, or leave you wondering what was wrong with you that some other kid was chosen first? Sad thing is that all those some-other-kid year after year turns into an 18 year old that now has to face life on the streets, and hoping, always hoping you can live day after day on small hand-outs. An adult is able to care for himself, whether he can or not. 'Aged Out' is the exact wording.

15 years old, he's not that far from being 'Aged Out' himself. But Nate is not going down that path. He won't be the dog in the pound where screaming children search for puppies. A world where the black dog, with the coal colored eyes is nothing compared to the adorable white fuzz ball with those blue pools. He's going to make money and help himself with being alright.

Although, he did have that one nice attribute in this world of animal-mentality adopting, he's got the fluffy white hair, and is cursed with a face and size younger than his age. Its annoying really, being seen as a child based solely by appearance. But for prospective families the ladies found him to be a complete knock out... until they learned his age.

15!? They'd gasp. 15 is too old, hard to control. 15 is trouble of angst and issue. 15 is not a kid for me- no matter how cute he is. And that was the funny thing, teenagers could be just as lovely and sweet as children- just as loving and more because they've got the fear of their walking papers to consider. Fear of the life in the end of all this rejection. For some, horrible things transpire in the Home they've been placed in. It's nightmarish when you see bullying, its horrifying when you hear the door to your bedroom open when an Aged Out is looking for a last hurrah, or one of the workers just sees the place as a sexual play-pen, and-...

"Nate?"

Nate blinked the cloud away that rest over his eyes. All the images swept away like someone opened a window then turned on a fan to let it all out in a flurry of twist and twirls.

"Right. No puzzles. How 'bout we just work somemore instead."

"Noooo!" He pitched a mock fit by stiffening himself like a plank and popping the back of his head over and over on the seat of the couch by bending and straightening his legs.

An odd sound came from him, some might call it a chuckle. He really has grown fond of the bucked-tooth kid. Its a shame that this will be the last time he ever sees him, any of the Maldonados really. He's made 300 dollars doing this little tutoring job for the past year, and where its not enough to so much as buy him a room in some cheap apartment building, its enough to get him a hotel room while he hunts for a job to keep cash flowing. He'll file himself under 'Student' when he applies, and wait in his hotel room for call backs.

He's resorceful like that. Its how he'd got the job, he allowed himself into a school building after classes and tore a slip of paper from a bulletin board. It talked about tutors in the school for students, and when returning the paper to the board he added his name. Shortly after that he got the call. He hated lying, but what else could he do?

"I'm at a loss then." Replied Nate to the dramaitc scene.

"The pizza's here!" Called the boy when hearing the door bell. The boy dashed into the hall and waited for Nate to catch up before opening the door to the stranger, with dinner, on the otherside.

"Thank you." Nate takes the pizzas and kicks the door closed before walking them into the kitchen. "Can you reach the plates?"

"No, but we've got paper ones right here." He removed the paper stack of plates from the counter top.

Serving up slices, he takes 2 for himself and they both enter the living room to partake of their meal infront of the television where a young teen and his dog embark on strange adventures. By the time Mrs. Maldonado returned from work it was 8:43 pm. She's always so kind and talkative to him, almost like she doesn't want him to leave. The gesture didn't fall on a dead slab, because Nate had always felt sort of special. Sort of like he belonged.

He should have known it would end there.

When going home to the orphanage the woman behind the desk, Ayumi Sho, said that he was going to be in for a big surprise next weekend. He wasn't sure what that meant since the only thing next week was his birthday and in a place with dozens of other kids was never anything special, he chalked it up to the woman just being happy for him having the birthday coming up at all, and he went on to bed knowing that it would be the last night he'd spend there.

It wasn't even morning out, the moon shot a single beam of light into the near black bedroom; shared by 5, when he was violently shaken from his sleep. Believing it was one of the other kids either afraid of a storm that crept up and he or she planned on scooching in with Nate for security, or a child planning to molest him simply for something to do in the boring hours between an awakened bathroom break and falling back asleep. Either way he woke up ready to thwart them away. Only it was neither A nor B, it was Sachiko Yagami, one of the ladies who works in the orphanage. Something's happened. There was a break-in not ten minutes after Nate left the Maldonados. They were killed in a shooting during the robbery of their home.

And to make the sting that much worse, Sachiko held him tightly to her bossom and wept out "Just when they had planned to adopt you". That did it. Nate was confused with disbelief and stunned into a momentary silence. But he found himself asleep, a dampening prickle tracing over his closed lids. And when the morning hour of eight o'clock rolled in, he grabbed the nearest trash bag and stuffed what little he owned inside of it, clothes, a little stuffed chick that was left on the bed he'd taken up sleeping in when he was old enough to be out of the crib in the nursary here. Sachiko was the only one to receive a 'goodbye' since she was the only one who was ever really kind to him. Fishing in the bag he handed her the stuffed animal to remember him by when telling her that he really wasn't going to come back.

She laughed and said to his leaving back. "See you at dinner!"

Let her think as she liked. It was time to be on his own and put the plan into action.

_And so I left. It was sad what happened to the Maldonados, but not entirely out of the blue. There have been break-ins happening all over that area for some time. I missed them, but I wasn't going to be swayed by fear, or weighed down by their death._

_I wanted out, and my time to act was on that day I'd left. I didn't know it would be as tough as it was. _

_So there I was... out on the streets with 'the plan' under my belt, and nothing to lose now that missing the Maldonados was mentally optional. I checked into a cheap motel for the day then started out. The Chicago Loop seemed like the perfect place._

Nate walked _State and Madison_ with the rest of the hoard of Chicago. His vision wide as he skimmed the building windows for Help Wanted signs, and chances to cross the street to search the other side. He imagined that, to anyone looking, he resembled a child lost in a toy store wandering aisle after aisle, passing shelf after shelf with no sign of his parents.

Spotting a bakery up ahead, he walks in behind a woman in a casual business dress. He waited around for the woman to finish her order of four small cakes for the office building she works in. The two young women behind the counter filled her order quickly, setting the white iced cakes into four pink boxes, tying them with a white string.

Nate watched the entire process. It really wasn't that tough: confection from the rack or display-case if its already in the front of the store. The eager young male watched the store work like a machine as customers came in and out.

The register was gaining quite a bit of weight, as he saw. A good chunk came from a wide-eyed man who looked like he were wearing eye-shadow but only on his bottom eyelids. But with a closer look it was actually an advanced stage of sleep deprivation- wasn't surprising if the male intended to eat all the desserts he'd just paid for by himself. The man's brain is probably strung out from a sugar high and looking to crash, but the junkie keeps throwing more goodies down his throat like a child. Nate wondered if that's what depravity looks like.

Nate blinks when he sees the sugar-junkie staring at him; a thoughtful finger tapping at his bottom lip.

"Would you like a cannoli?" He asked.

Face on, his wild black hair made him look even more like a strung out junkie. But, sugar isn't the worst addiction you can have- unless you're a diabetic.

Seeing that Nate wasn't going to answer, the man shrugged almost as casually as he had asked. "A face that still could use a smile."

"I don't like sugar." Replied the young male.

That seemed to get the wheels turning in the man's head, and with a smile that mimicked Nate's own, he said. "Makes working here easier, I guess." Seeing a packing boy on his way out with his purchase, he gives the young boy a nod. "Good afternoon."

Cutting his eyes at the slumped retreat, Nate decided not to wait any longer to disrupt business. Approaching the large counter, he waits until the blonde employee notices him.

Smiling, she then asks. "Hi sweetie, what can I get you?"

Judging by the 'sweetie' comment, she believed his was an adolescent.

"We have great after school snacks. Cupcakes, tarts, fruit pies."

"I'm not a child, I'm seventeen years old," he lied. "I'd like a job working here. I could be a packing boy" He suggests when recalling the perky young man who'd just left to load boxes into the junkies car. "Or maybe as a baker, or on register?"

"Uumm, how old did you say you were?" She asked not believing him.

Her brown eyes shift to her fellow worker who is helping an actual child with a selection by giving her small samples; her mother is beside her lecturing half-heartedly that each sample would be the last piece.

"Seventeen."

"Iiii don't think we have any positions open right now. Plus, you'll wanna speak to the manager, I just work the front."

"Can I get an application?"

"You might- Danny!?" She called to invisible Danny over her shoulder. "Do we have any more applications in the desk? Someone wants a part-time!"

A disembodied voice called back. "We're not accepting new apps over the Spring or Summer."

"Not even for part-time? Any hours are fine, even the night shift." He's persistant.

"-fraid not." She shrugged a shoulder. "Come back over the holiday, we always need extra hands then."

"I can't wait that long."

"Then, sorry. No."

**By the Dozen** was just the first of many 'Nos' that evening. And as he flopped down onto the stiff hotel bed, he was sure he'd just broken the world record of 'Nos' received in a single afternoon and evening. Every position, even the most miniscule he was brick-walled. He wasn't even qualified for training! They wanted school records, refrences. Some wanted I.D. Where would he even get something like that?!

Not having one was making it hard to lie about being older when his baby face had them seeing a twelve year old. Damnable curse. Why does it matter how old he is, or where he'd last worked just to wash restaurant dishes?! He's gotta find an I.D. forger. Maybe he can get one cheap while still having it look real enough to fool on-lookers.

He does have a prospect of a dollar a day to stuff menus into mailboxes for a pizza place, but that's not the best income. But, he did take the task, and he calls it that because for that wager, its not exactly a job. He couldn't even sweep hair at the pet shop because they aren't allowed to solicit minors. Someone even had the nerve to ask "where are your parents?"

_No. No. No. No_.

Nate was sure that he officially hates that word, or maybe not the word but he surely hates the meaning. He hates it even more that his cherub face is holding him back like a suit of armor when his intentions are to swim the ocean. He'll only sink. Nothing more.

Laying on his back he pretended his finger were a gun barrell, aiming it at the ceiling he whispers a fire. "Bang!" Sighing, he rolls over to his side, knees brought up to his chest. "He said to go mow lawns... where the hell do you find a lawn?"

Though he couldn't help remind himself that he is homeless and really any location in the city is home now. Not just the downtown area where the orphanage is.

_'Maybe I'll scout a new area out tomorrow. Find a new hotel to stay in, and start over in a different part of the city.'_ Sliding from the bed, he dumps the paper plate into the trash basket beside the desk; every stain of red sauce, loose tug of cheese, and crumb from the crust of the slice of Rosati's pizza was removed before the plate it came on was left for dead.

Making use of the shower, he crunched numbers in his head for food and boarding in this room for 30 bucks a night. And boy did it feel good, even as the troubles of the situation presented themselves to him, he could hardly fret because the hot spray was Heaven. And there will be no knock on the door telling him the timer's rang and he needs to get out. But even under the heated water he felt a chill creep up his spine. Shiver of doubt. A cold echo vibrating the tremor "go back". He's had enough of showering.

Climbing into bed, he tugs the blanket up tight._ 'I'm never going back there; back to starving, back to being robbed, ...What a terrible life, its a wonder I endured it that long.'_ His dark gaze rest on a corner of the room that's blackened as if none of the moonlight coming in from the large window could ever peirce it. _'Hn. I'm guessing this entire room can be drowned in darkness with the right pull of the curtains...'_

Getting out of bed, he shoves the thick curtains over to bring in more moonlight. A thoughtful smirk spreads across his face. Getting back into bed, he looks at the newly exposed corner and believed it was a good way of looking on the bright side of things.

Lids heavy, he thinks to himself. _'Tomorrow will be better, and if not tomorrow than the day after that or the day after that.'_

And his mantra continued until he boggled his words through sleep.

_I thought that it would get better- what are first tries other than the best time to weed through your kinks and make mistakes? My first mistake was that I hadn't found a shelter when I'd left the home,, which left me in the hotel for the rest of May. Now add food to the cost of that room and you'd see that 300 bucks is nothing._

_I had a hundred dollars left when I finally called it quits and left the _**Any Night** _vacancy. That was around noon, lunch time. I needed something cheap, something that wouldn't further dwindle my pocket. A hot dog vender was the first thing that jumped into view. And it was at that street vender where I met the first of my two friends. I was just about to ask the vender about apprentecing, when he showed up._

"I'll take mustard and," Nate stuffed a napkin into his pocket. When handing the man his dollar and a half, he opened his mouth ready to offer his services- and finish his order- when a car rolled to a stop just past the cart.

The black car is so shiny that the boy found himself admiring his haggard reflection as though it were a mirror. It was impressive that car. He raised a finger into his white locks, curling and uncurling a chunk in thought of what it would be like to drive around in the thing once he's comfortable enough to buy a car. His wealthy future looked like a far off distance when seeing expensive things like this car.

Nate never thought of how he'd spend the money beyond a home and food. Would he wanna buy things like that?

"There you are," says a slender blond who'd exited the mirror-polished car from the passangers' side. "I thought we'd lost you back there. He'll take three."

Nate, looking past the blond at the 'we' spots a guilty expressioned older man, with a beard and a short sweep of hair. He was in such wonder of the man, he hadn't heard what was said until his hand felt the sensation one might get from a rope burn. Looking down he spots his bills being rifled through and 2 more hot dogs being purchased with them.

Draping an arm around the albino, he continues with his order. "One relish and mustard, the other a state dog." Looking down at the younger male beside him, he says. "Better finish ordering kid, Matt's waiting and he hates eating cold food."

Brow cocked in hard suspicion, Nate decided, what the hell, I'll go with it. "Mustard and sour relish." Removing another 50 cent, he adds. "And a bag of _ Sun Chips_, please."

"A _Pepsi_ too." Adds the blond. "And for running off like that, you can pay."

_'That explains this,'_ Thinks Nate forking over another dollar. _'he's a pennyless bumb looking for a free meal. May as well pay, then the creep'll leave me alone afterwards.'_

Telling them the price; the man's gruff voice spoke volumes that he may have hacked up a lung once or twice over the food. Ah, Protein. Forking over the money, Nate found himself being ushered along the streets at a near rapid pace; the skinny mooch can really move! They round a corner and head through 2 allies before the mooch stopped, released his hold on him to plop down on a pile of rags, newspapers, and very ripped and very sullied torn pillows.

"Here." He says to a red head beside him, shoving the Chicago dog at him.

Standing there before them, Nate studied the odd pair. The blond looked like he'd been in a fight with a bonfire, but somehow he'd won the fight, though not before receiving a very large and nasty burn on the left side of his face. His grown out, shoulder length hair covered the very warn ear from being noticable enough to easily stare at.

The other is a red head, and with the dip of his head and the swath of clothing he's covered in even on a day as warm as today, he looks like a professional recluse. And his only real friend is the virtual world existing in the handheld he's ceasing to play in order to take his lunch.

Deciding that the two are harmless enough, Nate takes a seat down on the tattered blanket and _Times_ newspaper to eat his lunch. The 3 ate in silence, watching the moving city pass them without even so much as a sniff in their direction. As the meal was coming to an end, the younger male could tell he was about to get the boot judging by the way the two were eyeing him.

Matt, as he's come to know his name thanks to the burned male, finished first then began to pat a cigarette from the red and white pack. "Who's the kid?" He asked while keeping a trained eye on him.

"I don't know, he paid for lunch." Brushing crumbs along his hip, the mooch nods at Nate. "So who are you?"

Nate's reply was cut off by Matt processing the statement. "Then why is he here? We're barely feeding _ourselves_ half the time." Looking at the younger male, he says rather roughly. "Fuck off kid, we're not a soup kitchen, nor in the habit of donating to charity."

"Seeing that I'm the one who paid for your meals," Retorts Nate. "I should be directing that statement to you, Matt." And boy was his tone smug. "Anytime you'd like to pay me back..."

Matt balked at the kid's gall, but snickered all the same; the smoking white stick wags up and down as he speaks. "Yeah, alright tough guy.. you're off the hook- we won't mess you up."

"My relief could choke a horse." Replied Nate.

"He may be saying it in the wrong tone, but what he's saying is the truth." Mello chimed in. "The guy who did this to me," and he's refering to his burn. "became a really nice head-rest when his disfigured face ended up on the front page news."

"Hnhn. That chick who got mauled by an ape didn't have anything on that." Matt boast on his friends behalf.

Looking at the newspaper the red head tossed to him, Nate blinked in shock of the faceless man gracing the front page. "Say I believe you... What'd he do to deserve it?"

"He wanted our spot, and threw a molotov at us while we slept."

Returning his handheld into his position Matt followed up the tale with. "Not something you wanna do."

"Sorry that happened." Nate says empathetically after imaging that very scenario happening to himself if he couldn't find a shelter tonight. Turf wars. Who would have thought it exist out of gangs? "By the way, I'm fifteen- not a little kid."

"_'_xcuse me." Matt held up a hand in defense, while never taking his eyes from the game screen.

"I'm Nate River."

"Matt," Pressing the 'pause' button, he leans forward so he can shake the snippy teens hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Mello." Says Mello. "And only Matt can call me Mel'."

"Probably because he doesn't wanna call you Mello." Chides Nate. "What kind of name is that anyway?"

Matt could see Mello's back stiffening, as them's-fightin'-words, and he so very casually slid from the crossfire. But before Mello could chew the boy out, or send him packing on his dollar possessing ass, Matt explains very calmly.

"Its a street name, kid. We've all got one- well, a certain _some_ of us anyway."

The inflection wasn't missed. "I'm listening." He may have been talking to Matt, but his charcoal gaze remained on Mello, who is shooting daggers at him.

"Listen, you're new at this... you've got 'newbie' written all over you."

Matt's hand; holding the smoking cigarette, waves itself in a circle in Nate's general direction, the gray mist creates a hazy cloud in his face like a cinged aura protruding from the boy rather than the cigarette.

"So you don't know the horrors of street life; you look like you're still in the daze where you think a wad of Mommy and Daddy's cash will get you by until something great comes along." Taking a drag from the stick of relief; the thick smog rolls around beyond the inside of his moving lips, he continued his chilling tale. "You ever hear any of them answer when you ask them what their plans are? No. Because they didn't have one beyond 'this is gonna be great, I've got money and a plan'."

"I see." Nate sighs. Recalling a scenario of his own not long ago when he may have even used those exact same words. Only he was under no delusion that it was going to be easy by any means. "So, you're saying that once out here, there is no recovery point? You're just stuck."

"Unless you know something that the rest of us don't, pretty much." Sensing the worst of the charged air between Nate and Mello dissipate, he scoots back to where he was originally seated.

The closeness, so that Matt's arm was a breadth away from touching Mello, had Nate believing the two were more than just friends. The gesture was too private.

"I'm learning day by day about being on my own, but as you said, this is my first time on the streets." Readjusting his sit so that instead of Indian-style he's got one leg beneath him and the other bent up at his chest to rest on, he asks. "So what about this name thing?"

"This 'name thing'," Mello joined in on the conversation; Nate smirked believing that his intention was either to scare him into going back to where he came from, or to just plain scare him into sticking with them. Or maybe he's reading a bit too much into it. "is how you survive. Despite what it looks like on the surface, its a lot more than sitting on the curb, digging through trash, or holding out your hand while you look at the well-to-do pityfully."

Nate blinked as he took the words in and stored them away.

"Its dark. Its a monster that latches on with sharpened claws ready to rip you in half, or worse... _cling_ to you." Mello is silent as a crowd of people walk through the area; one waving at Matt.

Matt nodded a greeting.

Once they've passed through, Mello picked up where he'd left off. "Eventually you become hungry," His thin, but strong hand moves to the wrapper his hot dog had been in to finger it casually. "and not just for food. You're hungry for warmth, purpose, Hell for some... its just to be thought about- even if its as someone's 'plaything'." He lowers his head having his eyes covered by chopped bangs. "Its a bitch, but you do it... because it helps."

"But-.."

"_But nothing_. ...Amatures, whining little teens that run away, families with a bad deal in life. I've seen father's pimp their own kids for the greater good of the family, who's been living out of their car."

Matt looked particualry shamed by that, Nate noticed.

"Hn. Some wad of cash won't do a damned thing but put a meal in your stomach- it won't last." His teal gaze hardens that much more on the younger male. "Any 'hope for better' quickly becomes just hoping that you'll wake up whole the next morning, or even after a nap."

"What about shelters?"

Mello shrugged. "A fuck shack for the depraved. They're not all bad, just the people in them."

Nate's index finger moved subconciously to a lock of his hair. Its all a lot to process.

"But we both agree that its better to be paid for fucking around than be raped for free." Matt seemed to agree all the while doing the recluse thing. "So while it isn't much protection physically, mentally Mihael Keehl and Mail Jeeves," His head cocks over at Matt. "remain untouched."

"Chalk it up as self-preservation." Mutters Matt from beyond being enthralled in his game.

"Self-preservation?" Nate wonders out loud.

His 'plan' had been simple enough when thinking about it. But now he's starting to believe that it was premature, maybe even a little foolish. It was! But he'll be here in 2 more years anyway, he's just balsy enough to start sooner. Better to learn now and be wiser to the game than know that you turned tail and cowarded back home.

Nodding as if he'd just mentally signed a contract with the two, Nate says firmly. "Alright Mello, Matt..." He held out his small pale hand to be shaken. "you may call me, Near."

_For all his bravado about not wanting another mouth to feed and my being a charity case, Mello turned out to be really cool. Matt as well. I still consider him a recluse unless he's willing to get to know you. And as for my 100 dollars, I chose not to tell them about it, having them know served no real purpose and I could save it for a rainy day hotel room for us._

_The M's told me about how they ended up on the streets: Mello came from an orphanage like myself but from a different part of the city. Matt's situation was almost mentally damaging. He lived out of a car with his mother and sister after their home had been foreclosed on. He pimped himself out, only to lose them both through human trafficing. He'd seen his mother once during a sexcapade with a 'John' and his friends. But he was too drugged out of his mind to say or do anything beyond go with it. 1 year later both Mother and Daughter were placed dead on the street where their car used to be parked. Their legs spread and mouths open like it were a joke. As I'd said, damaging._

_But I was gonna hold my ground, I was gonna stick it out. And I planned to hold onto myself... to protect Nate River, and live a new life as Near._


	2. Johns Make You Feel Like Fast Food

_The day I'd spent with the 2 was really nice. We talked, and hung around the area like we've known each other forever. Nate didn't seem to matter, and Near was taking a new sort of home inside of me. He has people he cares about, and who sort of show that they care about him. I felt special when they called out to me, or we visited parks and played on the equipment like a bunch of kids; things Nate wouldn't dream of doing what Near did. He beca- I- became protective of them. Which is when the trouble began for me... between us as far as pact mentality went. I wanted them safe, but I discovered very promptly how the two made their spending money._

"I'll take this one." Said Mello, rising when a car slowed to a stop a foot ahead of where they're all sitting and watching Matt play a video game on his handheld.

The cigarette he's smoking is dropped to the ground and stomped on by his boot when he's heading for the car. Near watched with curious concern as the scene played out before him like a bad movie made-for-TV, Mello leaned over to look through the passenger window to speak with the driver; Matt, however, lowered his eyes to the unpleasant scenario.

It wasn't until Near spoke that the red head snapped out of it. "Where's he going?" Inquired the younger male, having to have his arm held to keep him from walking over to the car.

"Hn. You _are_ a newbie." Comments Matt with a scoff; a touch of aggression in his tone, he adds. "Mello's heading off with a wallet- or better known by the world a '_John_'."

Near blinked as he processed this information, then watched Mello climb into the anonymous vehicle; the car then sped off to parts unknown to the passenger. "I'm not sure I understand." He knew, he just would rather hear it.

To better clear it up, Matt further explains. "A 'John' is a dick looking for sex with any living thing that's human. The only reason we, and just about every other person out here in this situation, give it up is because they pay for it."

Removing a cigarette, he lights it up taking a quick two puffs to burn it properly at the tip before just leaving it to sit between his lips doing nothing other than wag up and down as he speaks; it looked kind of like how when a mother repremands you, she'll wag her finger in your face as if she's stabbing you with her words so they stay put in your memory.

"The more they want out of it," Matt blows a smoke cloud at him. "the more we get for it."

Looking after the missing car; Near's index finger creeps up to his hair beside his ear, and he winds a lock of his hair around it thoughtfully. "But that isn't the _only way_ to survive? Is it?"

Matt shrugged rather quickly. "Its the fastest, look," And he set down his abandoned game to rest beside him, so that he can gesture with his hands by chopping his right into his left. "sex sells. Its why women who strip to get through school do it, its why mothers do it for their kids- they need to eat and that's the fastest way to feed them without pay-backs. _Man_ is disgusting, and those who know it" He gives Near's shoulder a brotherly shaking. "exploit it."

"Then I'll feign ignorance." Replied Near in a disgruntled mood. He was so content earlier only to have his day end up like this, a lesson in swallowing bullshit from the Dummy's Guide to Street Survival.

"Then you'll starve." He releases his shoulder, returning then to his game.

Glaring, he turns his deep grays toward the movement at his right. "That was fast." He comments.

Near sounded almost as angry as a lover who knows their husband or wife is sneaking around on them, and tonight was one of those unfortunate nights that they just happened to be awake before said spouse could slip back in bed without notice and smile over what they believe to be a victimless crime.

"It's usually that way when they want nothing but a blowjob." Comments Matt in a small voice from beyond the border of where he's hidden himself away from his annoyance.

Collapsing between the two, Mello clapped the money to his free palm. "One hundred fifty big ones." He declared proudly.

"Geez, Mel'." Abandoning his game to give his full attention to his friend. "What'd you get overtime pay, the guy must have popped the minute he went in." Figuring that the blond had done more since blowjobs usually go for 50 dollars.

"Naah, I blew him, but I threw in a finger fuck for a little extra cash." Dividing the money up, he adds. "Fifty for each of us."

Taking it, Near hands it back. "I'm not taking seed money."

"Suit yourself, but I'm trying to help you out." He pockets the money. "Just what do you plan on doing for money?"

"Anything but _that_." He shifts uncomfortably.

Scoffing, Mello says very seriously. "Hn. Cute kid like you, the Johns'll be lining up down two blocks- especially sickos that like kids." He steals one of Matt's cigarettes.

Glaring, words seething with anger, he says. "I told you that I'm sixteen."

"I know. But they won't see it that way." He blows a cloud of smoke into the air.

"Pedophilia is against the law." Near's sense of smell pricked up when the wind direction changed and brought the scent of bakery their way instead of nicotine. "These men should be arrested." Although when he spoke his tone lost a lot of resolve, since his senses were salivating.

"But they won't." He quiets while puffing on his own cigarette.

Picking up Mello's slack, he adds. "They have families, good jobs- who'll believe the homeless?" He shrugs. "When we go missing, we're seen as never having been there in the first place."

"Sucks to be us, huh?" Mello threw in the barb.

"Yeah... yeah, it does."

"Well, condom or not- and there was- I wanna wash my hands then get something to eat." Mello declared while standing. He's very done with the topic. But it seemed that Near wasn't.

"Maybe we can get jobs as janitors somewhere?" Standing, he rubs the numbness from his legs and butt. "You're old enough to get jobs, and you can vauch for me." Walking along beside them; Near shoves his hand into his jeans pocket like its a nervous tick to check and see if his money is still there. Reassurance, a calmer to let him know that if he gets kicked to the curb by the two he's become unintentionally dependent to, he'll have backup. "You can be dish washers."

"Riiight, and if the boss man needs me he can call me on my hand phone." Mello chides. "Its got bars no matter where I am." Holding his hand to the side of his head, miming his index as the receiver and his thumb as the mouth piece, he teases. "What's that? I'm out of the job because my uniform looks like shit? And I've got the smell to match? Darn." He snaps his fingers. "Well, guess its back to turning tricks."

"It isn't funny." Replied Near, hardly amused.

"I wasn't trying to be." Mello said in a frighteningly serious tone. Walking through the door of the deli shop, held open by Matt, he says over his shoulder. "You can always sell drugs. I know of some guys who're hiring."

Near looked receptive to the idea.

"Problem with that is percentages to give your provider as the distributer." Mello said; ultimately wiping the thought from the white haired youth's mind. "You don't keep as much as they do." His dual colored gaze scans the menu. "Corn beef." He orders, then turns to Near adding. "And if you don't sell every bit of product, they fuck you up crazy, and still force you to pay them- with interest."

Weighing his options made Near appear almost petrified of even thinking selling drugs could be the better option. He's never so much as taken a really sincere punch before, how would he handle 'being fucked up crazy', as Mello put it? He touched beneath his eye involuntarily.

Quietly, Mello leans over to say. "Parting those virgin holes doesn't seem so bad in comparison, now does it?" Patting the newbie on the back, he pushes him up to the counter. Setting down a 20 dollar bill he says. "Order anything."

"Chicken club." He says to the man behind the counter. Stoic demeanor back in place, Near says softly to Mello. "You've given me something to think about."

"We'd better take this love fest outside," Matt interupts. "I think we've become offensive because of our collective stink."

Meals in hand, the 3 leave the deli and head back to their pile up of street collectables on the corner. They're chatting casually, almost as if to disperse the tense air forming around them from their conversation.

"Uh-oh." Mello smirks knowingly. "Looks like someone's been robbed."

"Shit." Near spots a pair of his jeans; undoubtedly left behind because whoever robbed him couldn't fit them. Picking up the jeans, he slumps onto the partly cushioned sidewalk.

"Welcome to being homeless." Mello shrugged a hand with a laugh. Sitting down, he wraps an arm around Near's shoulders.

_Mello didn't know it, and I wouldn't tell him... but having him hold me like that was very comforting. It held my nerves in check when I was sure they were slipping. I had a sick feeling in my stomach after that day as well; anytime Matt or Mello went missing for a short or long period of time. I actually threw up once. I didn't feel bad for them, it was their choice, but for __**me**__... it felt like I would become desensatized to it and give in._

_Even as Near I didn't want that for myself. So, once again, I tried to get my plan going. School's out, I figured it would be the perfect time to blend in with the part-time crowd my age. It wasn't how I'd expected though._

_I made it through the door as a bag boy, even a shelf stocker... I had the application in my hand. But when filling it out, I left a lot of blanks to fill in. Namely no phone number and no social security. As I looked around that dark hotel room, I realized that something had broken inside of me, because I knew what was in store once I found Mello and Matt three days later..._

"Are you sure about this, Near?" Matt stood beside the teen, hands in his pockets, head down, and swaying out of uncertainty of the situation.

Near woke up very early in the morning and placed himself on the corner where Johns know who's ready for 'pick up'. Matt was roused by the male's foot brushing past him, he thought that Near was off to pee or something, but through half-lidded eyes he watched the younger male pace back and forth on 'pick up corner' and he knew no good was going to come from it. Not today anyway.

He and Mello knew the kid should get his feet wet right off the bat, but he went missing for three days only to return and say that things didn't work out. Frankly, both would have rather seen the green male return to the orphanage where he came from. He isn't ready for this life, and he may never be. He still has two years left to get adopted, he should use them to really put himself out there, not throw them away from uncertain outcomes.

But alas, here they are on the street corner, standing around waiting for the early morning business rush. Men going home, needing quickies before facing a new day, their family, or they're just horny for whatever reason these men arrive so fucking hot and jazzed for some favors.

Whipping out his handheld, he turns it on to play while waiting around, and during the time it took for the loading screen to finish through, he elbows Near with a gentle nudge. And Matt says very sternly but also softly. "We're both ok with splitting the money with you. You know Mello by now, he was only trying to freak you out so you'd go back to the orphanage."

Shooting daggers to his left, Near almost bristled.

"Seriously." He cursed after saying that, but only because the battery power in his game just died.

Apparently money isn't the only thing starving men provide. Matt seems like an avid gamer; Near wondered if he'd be given things that suit his personal interest: books, puzzles? Having puzzles and maybe a book or two for reading or doing crosswords, word searches, or sudoku. It would be really nice for passing the time.

"Matt," And his tone is so disconnected and distant that you'd think he'd just pointed down and said "a cricket" rather than what he really says. "I had to hear you taking it againt the brick wall, right where we were trying to sleep." Closing his eyes he says very sincerly. "I won't be burdoned that that extra effort is because of me."

Snowballed by that statement, Matt's expression sagged to disbelief followed by a smirk and a dismayed head shaking. "You were known as laughing boy when you were a baby, huh Near?"

"I was hilarious." He fixed his hair from when Matt tousled it.

Further teasing him, the chain smoking gamer picks his fingers through the white mass looking just like a monkey checking its fellow friend and family for ticks. "This your real color?" Not finding dark roots he lets out an impressed snort.

"I never knew my parents, I'm probably half albino." He shrugs. Looking down the road he sees a few cars slowly approaching.

"It'll definitely draw some attention." Game stuffed into his large pants pocket, Matt lifts the goggles from around his neck to sit now over his eyes. "Go time." Leaning almost into Near, he whispers. "You can still back out."

"I'm doing it." Near stood his ground.

"Uh-huh." Lighting up a cigarette, he gives Near a shove toward a parking car. "You're up."

"Hi." Greets a grinning John, who is almost too calm. "Get in."

Gathering his temper more than his nerves, Near climbs into the blue Escalade. Giving one last look to his onlooking friend, he tries to ease Matt's fears with a simple nod. A weak smile is offered in return, followed up with a thumbs up.

The car moved slowly up the street to a place that's more discrete.

Near looked out the window trying to identify the location they've gone to. It looks like an old factory yard; there's white lettering painted on the large stone building that's worn and faded, but not enough that you can see that it used to read _Kellogs_.

When the hum of the car silenced and the rolling movement stilled, Near's attention pricked hearing the driver leave the front of the car and move to the back where he's sitting. Letting out a steadying breath, he watches the man's every movement.

"Wow... this is a really lucky day for me. I got a raise and now I get to ravage something as beautiful as you." He grins shamelessly. "Are you new, or did you just change areas. I'll die if I've been missing out until now."

Near glared at the man's lack of creativity towards dubbing him worthy of being a frequent of his. He then wondered where he went from here. Does _he_ suggest, or turn down whatever offer he doesn't want?

"I'll take fifty for a blowjob." A sentence he never in his life thought he'd say. Turning his attention out the window when he doesn't get a reply, he also notices a train track.

He didn't expect this to be the place where he'd have his first sexual experience. Not just the location but what he's doing, and who he's doing it with. This whole thing is just really _wrong_. This was a mistake! Matt was right, and he should have listened.

"I've changed my mi-..."

But his words came to a brick wall when he gets pounced on! The hungry man's letcherous lips latched onto Near's neck like he were a fork and he's slowly sliding foie gras from it with his tongue. Doesn't this guy even know how to kiss? Or is he simply this slobbish when he can't control himself. He smashed Near down on the backseat pinning him between his thick thighs and his hips came down into a rough full grind- but it was sort of hard for him to get momentum going because of the crotch of his suit pants popping forward to keep his erection from meeting its desired pressure apply.

But this hinderance does little to help Near's tiny frame get a comfortable position, since the John is just sort of rolling and slamming his hips down for a better experience for himself. The movement of bounce bounce bounce, is made even stranger with the hungry grunts happening all around the thick air in the car; it sounds like Near's being violently beaten rather than having sex- or getting ready to.

Rolling his eyes, he says very calmly. "I said I've changed my mind."

Deciding to silence the babbling child, he moves his mouth from the boy's neck to his mouth in a full blown attack of tongue, teeth, and pressure. And it taste gross- not like, this is offensive so of course I don't like it gross- just literally _gross_. The guy must've had a powdered donut with strawberry jelly inside and the combination of spit and cloudy powder with strawberry made Near wanna throw up.

He yelped when his jeans are unbuckled and a meaty paw comes grabbing in, jerking his member to either get him hard or just get him off. It isn't working, there's no slickness, no chills up his spine, just rough jerking. He doesn't need the man's big broad tongue brushing his own, he doesn't need his sex ripped off by the man's rough tugging, he doesn't need any of this!

Near grabbed the man by the hair and pulled. He figured pulling strands straight from his scalp should shock him enough to stop him, but his attacker moaned like it was some sort of sexual fourplay. The more he tried to wriggle free to jamb his knee into his groin or gut, the more the man pressed his massive weight down onto him.

The newbie street walker went from panicked to fearful when belt buckle jingled in his ears. Okay. He asked for it. When the man's unsheathed boner stabbed him on the crotch through his jeans, Near decided that desperate times call for desparate measures; grabbing the man's blond hair again, he jerks his head back and chomps into his throat like a mad-dog would bite a bony little leg.

Even when the older man screamed and moved to back off, Near refused to let go and he doesn't... until punched off by numerous blows to the face by a very angry John. Blood in his teeth, both the man's and his own, his head lands exhausted on the seat.

There's a brief pause between the 2. A heated stare-down as they both process what had just happened. Near made his move first, rolling over he reaches for the lock on the door then the handle once the latch is pulled free. Something he hadn't anticipated. Child locks. The handle just swung up and down in his frantic tug but the door didn't budge at all.

Snickering with triumph, blondie grabs Near by the hips jerking at his jeans. He didn't care whether they were unfascined or not, he was getting them off even if he had to tear them! Grabbed and pulled to the man's bare lap, Near wriggles and squirms while his jeans are undone and his screaming mouth- God, when had he even started screaming?- is covered by the man's other.

"Come on dummy, you want this- stop squirming!" He shouted while trying to keep his hand over the boy's mouth. "Aaah!" He screamed when two of his fingers are bitten into.

Near was momentarily confused when the man shook him, it was like how you'd shake a muffin or a cake pan when you want the bubbles to get from under the bottom. Trying to throw his head back he was met with chest and the damage done wasn't as effective as it would have been had the man been hit in the face.

Smacking the teen on the forehead, he barks into his ear. "What the fuck did you get in the car for?"

He's clearly past the point of playing around, and now he's just gonna take. Arm acting like a bar over Near's chest, his other hand reaches forward and down between his legs where he cries out from having his buttcheek gripped and squeezed while John tries to get in.

"I said I've changed my mind!" Near hollared in a voice he didn't even know he could get. "Buy someone else!"

His wriggling was futile, he's stuck. Even with all the bucking and tugging he's doing to get away it doesn't make a difference in freeing him at all. This is it, all hope is lost in getting away. Or at least it should have been, but ahead of them light came into the car, and with it a blond devil moving faster than the confused pairs eyes can adjust because Near saw the black blur of a gloved fist, but his John is the one who felt it.

The teen felt the damp trickling of blood spatter down the back of his neck and beyond the collar of his shirt. He cried out in pain, releasing Near in exchange of holding his broken nose. Trapped between the two, Near moved his head out of the way of Mello's pummel.

"Stooop." The man groaned when his head lulled back and forward only to be hit one last time so that the back of it smacked the tinted window. "Stop, he's... ugh" He groaned and closed his eyes. "He's not worth it."

"Come on!" The teen's hero snapped, and jerked him out of the car by the collar of his shirt.

"Little shithead... I fucking paid you." John spat blood from his mouth. "You can't just keep my money."

"Did he pay you?" He doesn't care if the man had, he'll toss the shit back at him and they'll move on, but he for sure isn't going to give him Near.

"No." Near replied in an annoyed calm. He's not only trying to catch his breath but his footing after being tugged from the car.

"He says, no." Releasing Near's clothes, he replaces the wad of shirt with a switch blade. Mello doesn't exactly brandish it about like a wild child without a cause, but he certainly makes its appearance known by tapping against the doorframe which he is leaning. "So tuck your two inch back into your bargain bin pants, and get back to your family, because he doesn't want it." He looks to Near and asks. "Do you want it?"

"No."

Shaking is head, he repeats in a casual tone. "Nope." He shrugs. Closing the door, he grabs the younger male by his collar again. "I'm gonna kill, Matt. Right after I'm through with you!"

_Honestly, Mello could have killed me until he actually killed me, if that makes any sense at all. But I'm glad he showed up when he did, because for the first in my life I was __scared._

_Things had changed from that day, it acted as an eye opener for me. I was going to continue with my decision to make money as a street walker, since dealing drugs still didn't appeal to me. But the three of us decided on a different sort of method for me. Matt was the one who'd brought it up two days after my nearly being raped._

"Remember when we first started out?"

To Near, who turned his head to look at the red head, it sounded as if Matt were speaking of a time when he and Mello were young-famous and not the stars they are today. But it got his attention from drawing on the sidewalk with a sharply tipped rock; Mello long since cocked a brow at the younger male's scribbles of robots on the curb.

"We didn't want some slobby fat fucker getting all friendly with us, so we piggy-backed to get him off."

Stealing a glance at his long time friend; and if Near were sure of his hunches- the two are also lovers, Matt wondered how his proposition was going to be received. To him, it looked as though Mello would have sprayed his sip into the air- if he were drinking something- but instead he just took a snap from the Hershey he bought when they stopped into a gas station to use the bathroom.

It wasn't all they'd done in there, the 3 went in together and washed up in the sink scrubbing soapy water over their faces, necks, and just anywhere they could from the safety beyond the locked door. The three left that bathroom like Hell had broken loose on it in the form of wet dirt and soggy paper towels. But, minus their clothes and hair, they're clean. And while cruising the shelves for a very inexpensive lunch, Near wondered if he should buy a bottle of shampoo. After being robbed before he wasn't sure if he wanted any material possessions. But then all of that is really getting off topic.

"Could work. Near's gonna have to agree with it though." He looks at the cotton top with wonder.

"You can't honestly think I have any idea of what that is." Replied the propositioned.

Picking a bit of cheese from his ham sandwich Matt licks the mayonaise from it while answering. "There are some Johns who just like to masturbate while they watch you do it."

"I've never touched myself before, I don't think I'll get much." He sips from his water bottle.

"What Matt's saying is that when _we_ did it" He studies the newbies face waiting for it to turn pale. "we were together, doing things to each other."

Near finished his sandwich in silent contemplation, when finished he brushed crumbs from his hands and sighed. "I don't wanna have sex with you guys." He said very bluntly.

"We're not gonna fuck you, its just handjobs or blowjobs." Mello assured.

Chiming in Matt adds. "And some kissing sometimes."

Kicking his trash out into the street- something he's gotten used to doing- Near looks the two over. "Let's try it out."

Mello shrugged indifferently. "Okay." Shifting so he's now sideways, he opens his arms to Near.

Leaning into the waiting blond, Near novicly wrapped his arms around Mello's neck and just went in for it, fast enough to knock the bony male onto his butt. He lacked confidence in the first place, but hearing Matt rolling with laughter beside them backed the teen off.

"Oh man, he sheep-dogged you!" He kicked his feet, pointing and laughing at the same time.

Running the back of his hand across his mouth, Mello grimmaced. "You're not supposed to just jam your tongue down my throat!" Groaning in disgust; he takes advantage of his tipped posture and lays his head down on Matt's lap. "Its just gross." He exagerates.

Rolling his eyes at them both, he sits back in his usual style of one knee up and the other bent under him. "Then teach me so that I'm better at it."

"I'll pass. Matt," He moves himself out of their way. "you're up."

Suddenly shy, the red head scratched the back of his head. "Okay, but no tongue. Just ease into it."

"I know." Near said sounding almost impatient with the whole situation.

Swallowing his nerves, Matt cups Near's cheek and moves in. It was hard not to laugh at how ridiculous he knew they both felt, moreso when their lips meet and he finds himself tilting the male's head and muttering against his mouth that he should part his lips.

Mello watched with unnerved amusement over the fact that they're teaching a virgin how to make out and be sexy just so some pedophile can have his way with him, the world is sick and cruel to make this anyone's normal.

Parting their mouths, Matt says with embarrassment in his tone. "Your pecks are fine, but you should put force behind your make-out skills, kind of like... I don't know, you're trying to pull water from my mouth." Returning to his seat beside Mello, he ends the lesson with. "Its sort of suck and pulls, I guess." He scoffs when Mello lays back down on his lap to use him as a pillow.

Nodding, Near says. "I understand." Confidence brewing, he climbs between Mello's swinging knees and bends over claiming his lips with his own.

Matt flat-lined in bewildered horror at the sight. Near's not only kissing Mello, but the blond is returning it! Where'd the squirt get that kind of confidence? Especially that peek of tongue brushing the blond's lower lip that his orange shrouded vision spied. When Near pulled back sitting away from his crawl, he smirked with pride at having shocked the blond who'd given up on him so quickly.

"So how was that?" He asked without being smug, which in turn only made it sound just that.

"I've had better." Mello smirked.

"...That was... kinda hot." Matt admitted with a snicker as he lit up.

"Whatever. So now that Sex Ed. is over, you think you can pull it off tonight?" He sits up before he's bombarded again. "We're running low on funds between Matty's obsession, and mine."

Matt blows out some cigarette steam mixed with a very miffed. "Hn."

"Batteries _and_ cigarettes, addic_tions_ are more expensive than my one."

"It won't be for long. I saw Near eyeing some toys in that store while we got those books of his."

Shaking his head, Mello says in all kidding seriousness. "Don't play with toys if you're gonna kiss like that, it's fucked up."

"Then maybe I should go back to slobbering on you." Comments the male.

"Hn." Scoffs the blond. "He's not making out with guys a full day and already he's getting cocky, and making jokes." Smirking around the bite, he snaps off a square of his candy bar.

Leaning back against the wall of the nameless building they park infront of, Near looks at the summer sky. "Its a nice addiction... playing with toys. It helps me think."

"What do you do now that you don't have them?" Asks Mello curiously.

Looking at the two, he shrugs. "Sometimes I'll just look at the moving people and the buildings, they'll _Lego_ into skyscrapers, or go off and fight evil." He smiles, its an odd expression on his face, looking almost inhuman.

"What kind of toys are we?" Matt asks unintentionally brought in on the conversation.

"Cyclops from X-Men, because of your goggles, and Mello" He turns his gaze to the blond. "He-Man because of his hair." He didn't add that, secretly, he sort of sees the blond as a hero for showing up that morning.

Blinking, Mello finishes his candy bar, crumpling the wrapper before throwing it into the street. "Piggy backing with you is gonna be so weird."

"Its only until I get comfortable with perverts." Near stated very matter-of-factly.

Mello was so heart-broken inside all he could really do to that statement was laugh, and give the teen a one-armed hug. And Near, unseen on the outside, just ate it up on the inside.

_We spent the rest of that afternoon exchanging stories and working on our kissing. Honestly, it was bizzare for me. Even when I'd gotten the hang of it, I still didn't feel comfortable doing it. I like Matt, and I... like Mello. Even the part of me that was somewhat excited by it, still didn't want for it to be going on. The whole day had been overwhelming, but night soon came and we were waiting around for the right cars to come by so we could get some spending money._

"Try the red Hyundai." Matt points at a car that seemed to linger at the stop sign.

Audibly getting up from the ground, Mello ambles over to the car leaning down into the window.

"He's pretty sexy right?"

"Who?" Near asked while knowing full well who was being spoken about.

"Mel'." He looks after the blond smiling. "He opens doors... people see me and think, spaz. But not Mello, he's got animal magnetism." Popping his knee into Near's he says playfully. "I fell for him day one, so its cool if you like him too cause I understand being on the other side."

"I don't like him." He said in a flat tone but a little too quickly that not even he believed it.

Snickering, he shakes his head to that. Spotting Mello wave them over, he waves back. "So like him, I don't care. I can share Mello with you, God knows if I'm not beating out the teeth of dirty older men who should know better, sharing him with a friend is practically a treat."

"Saying that isn't necessary, because I don't like him." Standing as well, he follows after the red head into the backseat of the car.

It was awkward. Oh how it was awkward. Near sat in the background of the dropped back benchseat that's now a bed, and watched as Mello and Matt unzipped and manuevered their jeans off of their bodies, dropping them into the small space behind the bed. He stole glances at the man in the frontseat, also naked from the waist down, stroking the head of his cock that's just starting to come to life.

_'What should I do?'_ He wonders.

Looking at his friends again, he grabs Matt by the rear giving it a squeeze. Glancing at the John, he receives a quizical look. Unsure, he sighs.

"Maybe if we had some music?" He suggests.

Through a shuddered pant the John says. "Music? Okay." He sighs loudly when Matt and Mello let out a groan. Turning on the battery, he finds the station with well enough tunes playing and turned it up enough to be heard, while still hearing them.

Wetting his mouth, he crawls toward the two. Mello grabs the teen by the jaw and pulls him over Matt's shoulder a bit to kiss him; Near shivered to the extent that a sigh escaped his mouth, when the tip of Mello's tongue coursed its way along his jaw and up to his earlobe where he nipped it before whispering in a rapid snip.

"Relax."

He nods, and tries to unwork the knot in his gut, especially when Matt moves aside to allow the blond to start undoing Near's jeans. Near was mortified by the act but strangely curious as to what would go on, so he just swallowed and allowed himself to be laid back on Matt's lap.

His jeans and boxers the first to go, he sucks in and holds his breath when his shirt is unbuttoned and Mello's leather clad hands come running up his chest in pleasent little to large circles. The blond dipped his head and ran his tongue up Near's body, starting mid-thigh up to whirl around the dip of his bellybutton. Near was torn between wanting him to go on, and kicking Mello in the gut for causing his heart to race while clouding his mind.

"Oh God... keep that up." The John said; startling Near from his cloud.

He looks at the panting sweaty man in disgust, but loses that sense of being watched when Matt's hand fondles him below the gently rising erection; Mello brings up the rear by taking in the tip of its head. Near's dark grays are just as focused in as the John's in the frontseat.

"Blondie, kiss the red head." He muttered with his head tipped back. "Nipples. Go ahead."

Not wanting to sit just like a lump while his two friends make-out over him, Near gently tugs at Mello's erection. He's never done it before because being arrested for indecent exposure wasn't something any of them wanted. Besides, they weren't even really making-out, they were just goofing around and kissing. This is a whole other thing.

But Mello doesn't seem to mind, infact he moves his hips into Near's grasp, while now kissing Matt's mouth. Watching the two from Matt's lap, Near held his own sighs at the lovely shot of tongue and heated expressions.

"Suck on him."

Near looked to the John watching them, his back is arched and he's pumping in time with the hand he has on Mello.

"Go ahead."

Taking his time, stalling really, Near unzips Mello's shirt shoving it from his body. The blond helped him by shrugging his arms back; Matt removed his own leaving them just an obscene heap of nudity minus Near's snow white shirt, but it didn't seem to be in the way of anyone so it remained on though undone. It was like a kind of modesty.

Grabbing Mello's need again, he slowly brings it up to his lips brought on by nerves and just wanting to try he slipped it past his lips at a tauntingly slow speed. And the groan he sent into Matt's neck was encouragement enough for him to suck it when taking in as much as he could.

The John was practically whimpering at the sight and he slowed his own pace to match Near's puffing cheeks, imaging that its He who is in the child's mouth. This kid couldn't be more than twelve, this was so damned erotic to him he was sure they were gonna be stopped because he has to be dreaming.

Mello didn't wanna move, despite it killing him because their new friend can really tease the shit out of a guy with those timid little laps he's running around his shaft. Its putting a whole new bite into his kissing and sucking on Matt's mouth and neck. He lowers a hand to caress Near's cheeks. He shook his head at his inner shame that the boy cuddled to it, so he instead moved his hand to Matt's abandoned throb, jerking it at the slow pace Near is taking him.

"Move your thigh blondie- the left one." He cleared up when the teal glance passed his way.

It was an odd angel, but not undoable, so he lowered his left leg a bit back and raised the right so that he appeared in sort of a half-assed kneel.

"Rock your hips now, and please say my name." The man asked while rolling his balls in his palm.

"What's your name?" Matt asked in a tone Near's never heard before.

"Xavier."

Near could have laughed at how ridiculous that was to use in the bedroom voice, but he was shocked by Mello's suddent thrust and he gagged on it.

"Sorry." He whispered.

"Pace yourself, kid."

It took everything not to object to being called a kid, but Near instead focused on giving Mello a good enough time. He was really glad no one was touching him at the moment, he was sure he'd humiliate himself by letting go on the spot. The very act of it all is trippy enough to be enough. He doesn't need any manipulation from either of them.

The erotic sounds spilled out of their mouths while some oddly appropriate rap songs played out of the radio, the guy had just surfed around and stopped on whatever didn't have news playing after all, but with how sexually explicit the lyrics are it actually fit pretty well as Kanye West's 'Monster' hummed in the background.

You'd swear the man had asthma with the panting he's doing while pretending that he's inside Near's mouth. Matt and Mello whispered and moaned the man's name, it was awkward- at least to Near, who's new at this- but he let them have at it since his mouth is occupied.

"You. Boy. What's your name?"

"Its Near." Mello says.

Near could have bit him! Mello had no right to do that. Last thing he wants is this guy coming around the neighborhood to call on him. But he instead sucked away and left his feelings for later. Besides, when the man sped up and started crying out Near's name, Mello and Matt put a hand over his ears. He owed them at least that much.

And when the John came on the window of the passanger's seat, he let the three of them go, whether they came or not. He paid them, a hundred each, and let them go. Guess all those confused giftless wives have still got no clue where the missing money is going if not on them or groceries, or bills. Its going to well paid street walkers for a good time and he could see now, a good show.

"Thanks for telling him my name, Mello." Near snipped once they've reached their street corner. "I don't want that guy asking around for me by name."

"Your not exactly easy to forget grampa." He tousles the boy's hair.

Near forgot about his hair, being so used to it that it isn't a noticable issue.

"Well, we're gonna fuck around..." He puts an arm around Matt's shoulders. "Are you in?"

"No." Near sat down, feeling ashamed and, unfortunately, turned on.

"Suit yourself."

Laying down, he tried to will his erection away while at the same time shut out the sound of Matt and Mello fucking very close to where he's trying to sleep. Growling with frustration over knowing why his friends are so hot, and being aroused and unattended to- though he was invited.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Near called to the two.

Unsure if they'd heard him or not, he didn't care, he just wanted to get away.

...

Done relieving himself in the bathroom, Near sits himself on the sidewalk by the gas station watching the cars passing through.

"Coffee?"

"What?" He turns his head and sees the man from the bakery.

"Well, cappuccino- its hazel nut. I figured you'd want a nut, since you don't like sweets." He hands the paper cup to the male. "Its hot."

"Are you stalking me?"

"I hope not, cause that's against the law." The man takes a sip of his stronger drink. Heavily sugared if his amount of purchase from the bakery was anything to go by.

"Finally, someone who gets it."

"What do you mean?"

Near sips his drink, even on a summer night feeling the warmth inside of him was really nice. Comforting. "I have to do things in order to survive out here, I'm not exactly proud of those things either."

"I see." He sips his drink.

They're silent a moment then the man speaks again.

"I don't know your current situation, but if these things you're not so proud of go along with the larger decision... maybe its best if you leave pride at the door."

"Maybe."

"That's the spirit!" Standing, he holds a hand out to the teen. "Good luck."

"Yeah."

_The weird guy who likes sugar was right, I should just suck it up. It was my choice to have this life, even though it wasn't it happened. And since this alternate situation seemed to present itself, I was unfortunately stuck. So I sucked it up through July, going on piggy-backs with Matt alone, Mello alone, or both. There was one time when I braved going by myself, and it went surprisingly well. The man didn't attack me as my first John had, and he didn't ask anything more of me than to watch. But I knew a time would come when I would have to give in if I wanted more money, because not every John was wealthy and you'd only get whatever they were willing to offer, what you did for it and for how long was your choice._

_It was the first day of August when Mello and I were sitting around waiting for Matt to return from one of his jobs, I asked him what it felt like to have sex. Its not as if I'd brought it up, he actually was telling me something that I'd already concluded myself, that eventually , I'd have to give in to someone. Since I was well enough off to go in for pleasure voyerism then I could handle taking it. Honestly, I think he was afraid of me being raped, like my first John had tried. I was worried about the same. He flat out told me that he didn't want my first time to be bad._

_So I asked him..._

"Mello?"

The blond looks at Near.

"Will you... have sex with me- just to get it out of the way." He added before the blond could believe it was because Near wanted to or something.

"Sure. Pick a place."

"I've got some money saved up, for rainy days that we don't wanna sleep outside." He honestly couldn't believe he got a 'yes'. "We can get a cheap motel, there's this one I always go to-.."

"When you ditch Matt and me?" Mello interupts.

"I'm not ditching you, I'm clearing my head." He explained though he felt he had no reason to. What business was it of Mello's what he did when he left?

"Oh what? Its not all action figures and _My Little Pony _up there?" Smiling at his joke, Mello then nods. "Motel it is."

"Thank you."

_We got our chance that very night because there was a nasty storm going on. The three of us were together, but Mello didn't seem to care, especially when Matt climbed into the shower, and he looked over to me and said "Let's go."_

It felt weird to be sincerely naked for someone, and not just because they're scrapped for cash. He squirmed beneath Mello's warmth; practiced in how to touch him, thanks to all the piggy-backing he knows how to rub his hands up Mello's back and down between his cheeks. He knows how and when to arch his back during touches to highten the pleasure; and without some sick older man watching them his erection felt so much more apparant to him, so hungry and in need to grind in return to Mello's.

"Slow down." Mello said into his neck. "I'm not trying to make love to you," He cleared up. "but there's no rush." He busies himself by kissing Near's shoulder and collarbone before speaking again. "Matt's gonna be in there for a while, he hasn't had a shower outside of a bathroom sink in seven months."

Near was glad they'd bathed first if Matt was really planning on being that long. And listening to the experienced blond, he slows his rolling hips and deepens his starving kiss. His nerves were working over time and every time Mello grabbed his member he had to tell himself to calm down.

"I should have bought lubricant." Near said into the pillow when he was turned over.

"It'll be fine."

He scrunched his eyes when Mello parts him and lines himself up with his entrance. Near hoped so; between them enough slickness had to have been worked up during the grind, as they say Near oozed inexperience, and he'd seen Mello coating himself with it. He only hoped it was enough to keep it from hurting him in any way.

Mello's lips press into Near's back along the spine. Slowly, inch by inch he pushed in, stopping when feeling resistance to pull back and let the teen calm his flexing muscles trying to get used to the different feeling.

Near's eyes squeeze shut when Mello shoves in fully the next time. He allowed the kissing and rubbing on his body, to distract him from the pain screaming for attention in his lower back. Near felt embarrassed when Mello began to move, and had nuzzled his face into the back of his head as if it were so wonderful on his end, he had to hide it until the teen felt the same way.

And when the pain eased, and Mello's slow movements became almost wonderfully sluggish, Near was sure he was dead because Heaven felt beautiful. Hips raised to meet the blond's thrust, he moves himself back and forth seeking more of that pressure, more of the fill and empty, more of that tingling in his soul that attached itself to Mello's every movement over and in him. The hand gripping and smoothing roughly up his left thigh, brushes teasingly past his member to caress the other thigh. Their breaths mingled and the loud booms from the storm caught their moans and cries.

And you would swear that the lightning had been from their friction with how brightly the room illuminated when they climaxed. Near felt a voltage of the same magnitude run through him when Mello's warmth filled him and his own ran out like a lightning bolt that went in, ran around then finally found its way out. Body slick with sweat, and nethers leaking, he was sure he'd want another shower, granted being spent doesn't knock him out by the time Matt gets out.

Mello snickered in his ear, smacking him on the cheek before pulling out, pulling away... And Near was left panting and tired, and cold because it shouldn't.

It just shouldn't... something this good shouldn't be given to sexually depraved assholes with nothing better to do than pretend their wives aren't good enough, and for the ones that aren't married, there's always self exploration. And then there's that saying that there's someone for everyone, it probably includes sickos too.

But as Mello's pace picked up and Near arched and moaned more and more, he knew more than anything that he didn't want this life. Not for himself, nor for Matt or Mello.

_It was my fault for getting attached to them... to Mello. Because that fear made me feel like getting away from them before I became stupid, jealous, angry at the Johns, and angry at the two of them for never making enough to just get a decent home to live in. It was because I became attached that I ran into Him. And that's where my real problem started._

...

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading and reviewing if you chose to, I appreciate and listen to it very much to improve. I was going to cut the end scenes up because yeesh look where I'm posting this. But then I wondered if it were so bad, so I'll leave it.


	3. I'm to Blame

_The day had started off so normal. And when your life is my life odd becomes normal. So to me a normal morning was dropping my hand below the blanket and jerking off, because seeing Mello passed out beside me I recalled last night when he took my_ _virginity one_ _minute,_ _then pulled_ _away just to_ _sit me-_ _already fucked and receptive- on his lap to then treat me like I were his in the next. It was shattering and intoxicating, to be pleasured twice in one night_.

_Matt knew nothing about the details, but I know he knew. When he left the bathroom, he snickered and gave me the same playful slap on the rear Mello had when he'd pulled out_.

_When I was finished with my morning need, I walked into the bathroom to relieve myself, and once back in the room I dressed. I didn't notice how dirty my shirt was getting until I saw it then. The white is off, nearly a pale pale gray. It doesn't really make a difference, nothing about me is clean anymore anyway. Slipping it back on, I watched my two dozing friends wake._

"What's for breakfast?" Matt groans into the pillow before his sleeping head lifts from its resting spot. "I vote pizza."

Mello breathed deeply into the newly waking air, expelling it before he's able to find his voice. "There are no pizza places open during breakfast hours." And his bedhead was monstrous, flying in every direction static electricity could take it.

Near blinked at the once studly image from last night, amazed at how it could look so comical now. It should have been impossible, but there it is. His blond lover, a golden dandelion fluff. Smiling away his laughter, he looks around the room for the alarm clock.

Bleary eyes follow Near's checking, and fall upon the clock as well. "Jesus," Matt says before yawning into his hand. "What were we doing that its ten already?"

"Sleeping in a bed." Responds the collapsed figure of Mello. He's slugging it today.

Near had a secret fantasy that it was because he had tired him out last night, but Mello's observation was probably the most accurate. "It'll be lunch in forty seven minutes, if you can wait."

Matt's stomach actually sounded like a meowing cat, in objection to that comment. "I don't think so." Rubbing his gut, he grabs the phone then looks around for a menu.

"We're not at the Ritz." Near takes a seat on the bed beside Mello's deceased figure. "The only menu you have is stale muffins in the lobby hallway. Your choice."

"Then I'll go out for something. What do you want?" Slipping from the bed, Matt grabs his discarded clothing to dress.

"Oatmeal." Near says just as bland as oatmeal taste.

Snickering, Matt nods. "Yeah, okay. I was thinking more like gas station ramen, but I guess I can get his Highness McDonalds. Mel?" He calls from the door. "Wake up! I'm getting food." The door is pulled open.

The blond hurls Matt's pillow as far as his dead arms can throw, and he points over his head to Near, who blinked at the notion.

"Okay, two oatmeals." He said it like he would be given a great burden to be known as the guy who'd ordered 2 orders of oatmeal. At least he'll be eating something a lot more manly. "Be back in a while."

Near waited for the door to close before he addressed the sack of Mello laying mostly beneath the- suredly- dingy covers, or rather it was the other way around and Mello was the one waiting. His arm snaked around Near's waist, and he pulled him down onto the bed ready to paw at him.

"What gives? Why are you dressed?" He asks when getting a shirt flavored smooch from Near's covered neck.

"Unless you'd like to pay for this room again, we'll be leaving right after breakfast."

"Tch." Getting up from his lounge on top of the younger male, Mello grabs his clothes from the bundle on the floor at the side of the bed. "I long for the simpier times when the group didn't have a buzzkill." He tugs his clothes on.

_Mello may have been teasing, but he honestly didin't know how close he was to saying goodbye to me. I couldn't tell them, I really didn't plan to. And after breakfast, I thought out my exit strategy._

_We'd just finished up a performance, me being fucked by Mello while giving Matt a blowjob. The two wanted to hang out at the park and throw rocks into the fountain. It was juvenile but endearing in a way, moreso when the two laid back on the dying autumn grass and began talking big about 'what if' this and 'what if' that. That was when I excused myself by saying..._

"I'm going to the bathroom." Getting up, he barely got a wave goodbye from the two.

Going to pee in legal places was hardly anything to announce. It was sort of common knowledge between them that whenever someone disappears they'll be back, or meet back up with the others not long after. Neither suspected a thing that it would be the last time they'd ever see Near again.

...

"Nate?" Came a familiar voice from the other side of the shelf.

Near really did need to pee, but he hadn't expected to run into anyone he'd somewhat known from the home. Let alone ever hear his given name again. Light Yagami stands on the other side of the shelf of snacks, peering over to the white mop on the other side.

"It is you." He says when he noticed the white mop seemed to duck down in order to sneak away. "My mother and the other women have been worried sick about you. Where have you been?"

Near knew getting away was pointless because he'd already been spotted for one, and chased to the door for two. So much for grabbing a snack and running. At least he can bolt since he's at the door.

"Why are they worried? I told them I was leaving, my being gone means I'm no longer of their concern." He steps aside for a woman and her five year old, who's bouncing in behind her.

"You'll _always_ be their concern!" Insists the older male. "Nate, stop kidding yourself." He grabs him by the wrist. "You look a mess, and your obviously malnourished... You can't really be happy?!"

"Its no different than if I were eighteen," His eyes sharpen with contempt. "or maybe you'd all care a little _less_ since I'd be considered an adult by then?"

That seemed to surprise Light because for a moment he seemed speechless. The orphanage worker's son, regained his merit then and asked. "Is that what this is about? You're afraid you won't be adopted before your eighteen?"

"Its the truth. And unless you and your mother are considering humoring me with an adoption, maybe you should just forget that you ever saw me."

Light watched Nate's exit, but he followed after him. "But maybe there's another way? Anything but this..." He felt relief wash over him when the runaway stopped walking, but the younger boy keeps his back to him. "Just come back to the orphanage... we can probably work something out."

"I'm sixteen years old, I don't want or need that brick house babysitter." He takes two steps before saying "Bye, Light." and he went on his way.

_Seeing Light Yagami really shook me up, but not in any sort of moved way, I was more on the angry side. And I was talking out my frustrations with that sugar loving stranger from the bakery. He sat beside me on a street bench eating and listening while I ranted on about the homes system, and how I don't want Matt or Mello to worry about me at any point, which is why I'd decided to leave them._

"I thought you only liked sweets?" Near comments when seeing the label of the little cup in the bakery guy's hand.

"Mmm?" He intoned, plastic spoon erect in his clenched teeth. "Oh, you mean my yogurt? I'm having a good day, and trying something different."

"So you were eating all that sugary stuff because you were clinically depressed or something?"

"No. I was happy on those days as well," He dumps the yogurt into a nearby trash bin, only having tasted one spoonful of it. "You must have missed the end when I'd said I was trying something new."

"Did you like it?"

The man blinked, stuffed one hand in his pocket and a thoughtful finger against his lips. "How 'bout we get an ice cream and you tell me some more tales from your riveting saga."

"I told you I don't like sweets," Near replied getting up from the bench. "Or had you not heard me when I'd said that?"

"Alright then, I'll eat the ice cream and you can have the cone." He ambles on ahead; the younger of the duo follows. "Besides, I'd heard you before. I merely like to block out unpleasant things- especially when I'm eating- makes the food taste better."

Near supposed that was true. Food did have less of a lonesome taste to it since he's been with the Ms. Following behind the nameless bewildered-faced man, Near wondered what the two were doing. Its been at least an hour since he'd left them. Are they wondering what he's doing, or where he'd gone to after the bathroom? Maybe they think he got distracted doing a solo gig.

"Two please, and a handful of nuts for my weird friend here."

The man behind the counter looked like he'd been smacked with a fish when ten dollars hit the counter for a four dollar ice cream serve. Maybe the guy wanted change? Serving up a peach cone and chocolate soft-serve, he then scoops a handful of crushed nuts into the younger one's palm. Thinking they'd be in a little packet, Near just let his hand drop thus spilling the nuts on the parlors floor.

Amused by this, the sugar-fiend smirks around his peach custard. "So tell me again, why you don't want to be close to the blond you like."

"He's an attractive force, who lives a really bad life." Near explained as they exit the shop. "I don't wanna find him mangled on the streets someday, so I've decided to just pull out."

"Interesting hypothesis to the situation."

"I thought so."

"Next time you see me, you'll have to tell me how its worked out." He holds the door open for the boy. "My bet is that you'll see them again. If he's that wonderful, you'll return to him."

"I won't come back, I plan to go into a different part of the city." Brushing his hand clean against his pant leg, he adds. "Out of sight, out of mind."

_But since our funds were a joint account, like some bizarre three-man marriage, I needed to work a few jobs in order to get some moving funds._

"Hhhh." Near's hand gripped the side of the passenger's seat beside him when the man's tongue made another round around his member.

This John has a thing about giving head, and he's really good at it. Near's been teased for 15 minutes now, and so far the start and stop has got him in a tornado of lavish exhaustion. Hands gripping the elderly man's hair, he bucks his hips up into the man's mouth to urge him along. He really should be getting on his way.

When he came, the older man moved away to keep from swallowing it in such a mass amount.

"Shit." He spat. "I'll have to get the car cleaned.

Near hates it when the John's talk. It makes it too real what's going on. When its panting, moaning, and touching, Near can go into his dreamland and imagine he's anywhere else, or he's with someone else. But then they talk, and ruin it, and bring Near right back to feeling the regret and shame of it all.

"How much would it cost to get in there?" John asked with breathless composure, whilst he tucks himself in. He'd also been jerking himself off while sucking on the street walker's junk.

Near honestly didn't think that the oldman could, which is why he chose his car of the three that came up the street. Older guys are usually failures to erect, which means they won't want much beyond a show or petting you, handjobs and so on. You know, stuff Near's comfortable with.

"Not for sale." He comments while zipping up.

"Oh." John nods. "That's a shame really, I'd pay up to at least five hundred."

"Not interested." The door is popped open, and Near steps out onto the street.

And then something weird happened. The John asked him. "Why?"

Blinking at him, Near says without a second thought. "I need the money, but I don't need the trauma."

"B-.. but.. how can what I just did not be traumatizing?" He scoots to the exit where the boy is closing the door in his face. Rolling down the window, he says instead. "Can I see you again? Where will you be?"

"No. And anywhere." Turning away, he adds. "Goodbye."

Funny thing was, Near felt that he had really broken that oldman's heart. It was so comical to him that he'd found himself laughing about it later on that day. He must have looked so crazy because out there, in the full-swing summer heat, laughing and carrying on. People actually dropped money at his feet, as if to express some sort of sympathy for the laughing fool. Must be sunstroke.

Near could eat. He thought as he grabbed up the change from the ground. He doesn't plan on using the change to eat with, that's just for gas station trips for bottles of water or a snack. Snacks made Near think of Mello's snacking habit. How he always likes to grab a candy bar when they make pit stops inbetween doing nothing. He has to get them out of his head, its not healthy. He doesn't wanna end up walking the neighborhood with one or the other M only to find the counterpart splayed out like a damned fish on a dock, after a cat has had its way with him.

No, Near has made up a new plan. Simple, easy to obtain. He's absolutely sure things are going to work out this time. He may have lost his way for a few months, but no more. As far as the emotional trauma, he'll write it off as one very bad, very vivid, BAD DREAM.

_I'd gotten a meal at a place that Matt and Mello, and I have never been to. If they've started looking for me in the six hours that I've been gone, I didn't want them to find me because I'm behaving like a cat that's following a scent we've left around._

_It was at Shaun's where I met him. He was walking out just as I was, and we almost bumped into each other because of this. He said "excuse me" and held the door open for me to exit._

"I've seen you before, haven't I?" He asked when they got out on the street.

"I've been around." Near replied looking the man up and down.

Of all the people he's had as a wallet, this guy would actually fit into the attractive category. He's got jetblack hair, and the most hypnotic dark green eyes Near has ever seen. His skin is pale like a porcelain doll, and his shoulders are very squared showing off his masculinity as well as the casual v-neck he's wearing that reveals a peek of a well toned chest.

_"I've been doing this for too long."_ Near thinks. _"These people are actually starting to have faces. Worst of it is that I don't even know if this guy is one of them. I'm so desensitized that anyone around me is just a wallet."_

"This place is pretty good, huh?" He asks.

"It was my first time eating here, so I don't have much to go by." Replied Near, deciding to put his attention elsewhere, like straight ahead at the human traffic across the street.

They cross the street together, Near doesn't even realize that he's following the man until they reach his black vehical.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that the conversation was over." The man opens the door to the driver's side. "Or maybe you'd like a ride someplace? I'm off work today, so I've got the time."

"You don't know what I am, do you?" Near asks curiously.

"Umm homeless?"

"Yes. But I'm something else."

The man blinked, then slowly climbed into his car and closed the door. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, but I don't think today is the right day to find out there are actual monsters in the world that eat people." He smiled at his joke.

Opening the door to the passengers' seat, Near climbs in. "There _are_ monsters in the world, but they don't actually eat people." He pulls the door closed. "I should explain."

"I think you should."

He starts the car and drives off.

...

Near's starting to see just how bad he'd been at kissing, by experiencing first-hand what Matt had meant when he said that he'd sheep dogged Mello. This guy is seriously not a good kisser; and Near was sure he was starting to get the hint because his mauling slowed to a stop when he noticed that his little street walker kept turning his head away from a full on liplock.

Sitting back in his seat, the man- whose name Near learned is Gevanni- began to laugh. "I'm sorry. I'm really not this bad a kisser, its just that this is really weird and I've never done this sort of thing before."

"You should have seen me at my first time... it was really awkward. I didn't think I'd ever get the hang of it." Near confessed.

"You mean you have?"

"Unfortunately. Its like being a baby.." He explains. "You've never walked before, but your parents and other continually make you do it and eventually you just do. After that you never go back to crawling."

"But that's so sad." Gevanni frowns. "Don't you hate it? Don't you want better?"

"All the time." Near turns in his seat so that he's looking out of the windshield. "I've got a plan now that I'm sure will work."

"What do you mean?"

Near couldn't believe he was spilling his guts to a stranger, but the man was sweet and nice to talk to. Maybe not like his nameless sugar loving friend, but Gevanni has a sort of kind air about him. "I've decided to buy a room."

"You mean like a hotel?" Gevanni turns in his seat.

"No. I mean, I'm going to buy a room that someone is renting. This way I'll have a home, and a phone, and I can start looking for a job. Then I can get my life together."

"You know... it sounds so simple, but that may actually work out for you."

"I thought so. But, I don't know how much rent goes for, so I have to save up some money."

"And you get your money by doing _this_?!" Gevanni seemed distressed over that. It was wrong and sickening. "Near... you can't really do this?"

"I've been doing it so far."

"And you shouldn't, you can't be anymore than thirteen years-..."

"I'm sixteen." He hard insists.

"Sixteen is still _too young_." He places a hand on his shoulder. "Near... I've got a propesition for you."

"...What is it?"

"I give you a place to stay... I give you a job." Gevanni sounded so desperate as he spoke. "You said it yourself its only until you get on your feet. And it'll be easy... Near, please." And there's sincerity, sweetness in his eyes and voice. "let me help you."

_He drove me to his beautiful home, six bedroom, 5 empty from his own. The place has a library that also doubles as a study, Gevanni's home has a large kitchen with a walk-in pantry, and he's got a basement. He showed me around the home and explained to me what he wanted for me to do as a job. I was his maid- well, butler. Basically I cleaned his house. He works in law enforcement as an F.B.I agent and he's rarely home._

_Gevanni told me he could never trust anyone with cleaning his home because people tended to steal in today's economy. I understood. He didn't even know if he could trust me, and I didn't even know if I could trust him._

_Turns out... I was the loser._

"This was practically where my wife and I lived." He says when showing Near the study.

Near looked around the room visually. Its beautifully decorated with waist high bookshelves, a desk made of thick mahogany wood, and a laptop computer sitting on top of it. There's an LED bulb, very chic lamp at the corner of the desk, with a black metallic shade. There's also a photo sitting beside the lamp with a photo of a bride standing in the frame.

"She's pretty." Near comments insincerely to the photo woman. "Won't she mind that I'm here?"

"No... Zan' died of breast cancer." Gevanni only glanced at the photo he must have looked at a million times in the darkness of the office. "Its short for Suzanne."

"I see." Following the man into the first floor bathroom, he looks around with absolute impress.

Marble this, gold or silver plated that, all the colors matched in every room. Definitely a woman's touch.

"If you need references from my last boss, I'm afraid you're out of luck. She's been murdered." He follows Gevanni into the kitchen where the man was opening the door to where he'd assumed was the basement. He saw his soon-to-be-boss give pause to those words. "I wasn't the one who'd done it. There was a break in."

"I see." Gevanni seemed thoughtful.

Near imagined, that Gevanni was thinking that the death of his employer was what started his life as a street rat- if only. Peeking down the stairway, he raises a brow in question when the cold dank smell wafted up into his nose.

"Will I be cleaning down there as well?"

He didn't know what happened. One minute he spoke, the next thing he knew he was flying down the stairs, head-over-heels toppling-style. He grunted and cried out in pain with each pop against the sturdy stair's stone edging he came into contact with. But it was cracking his head on the floor that did Near in. He blinked one last time, then fell unconsious with little more than an exhausted breath.

Near felt burning between his buttocks and against his lower back. He's moving; he noted this when his senses began waking up.

_"Fells like I'm in a car on a bumpy road."_ He thinks through a groggy haze of pain raking him with each jiggling jolt.

The teen groaned involuntarily, earning some conversation from the driver.

"That's right, speak to me... make me harder."

Another involuntary groan sped up the driver's pace; it was awful when his sense of taste woke up, and Near is greated with tangy blood and all-too-familiar bleh known as semen. He coughed, choking on the very want not to swallow just then and his head lulled to the side, pressing his nose into a foul scented pillow where he let bile creep up from his pained stomach to empty out onto the pillow.

"Stop doing that." Gevanni spoke- spoke, he doesn't sound as fired up or angry as one would believe he'd be. Grabbing the teen by the jaw he shakes his warm sticky face back and forth to keep him conscious. "You do that again and I'll show you real pain."

Near blinked his eyes open seeing the man on top of him, naked and sweaty, panting hard with a look on his face that said he was in Heaven and not through playing around up there, but there was also a look in his eyes that boast of an ability to forget all that if he needed to. And Near was sure it came to a beating when that happened. He remembered something along the lines of that happening when he'd woken up to this sort of thing the first time. He flailed and screamed, he clawed and fought, and it was all for nothing He was beaten back onto the floor, dragged over to the bed, and the man let his fist fly.

He'd pinned Near down by the wrist, and his knees dug painfully into his ankles. He was face down and screaming like a madman, he'd been stripped while unconscious, and all Gevanni had to do then was line it up.

Near's tiny frame was no match for this man, and he was sure if his forearms were broken as he suspected from his fall down the stairs, he'd only get weaker and weaker due to untreated pain. It didn't mean he doesn't have other means to fight with. And he showed one of the methods when Gevanni roughly pulled from his bleeding body, and grabbed him by the head. The older man forced his jaw open and readily shoved himself in- and oh the surprise he'd gotten when Near bit into him!

Gevanni hollered, the sound came out thick and interrupted by concrete walls and floor and padded ceiling. "You little shit!"

Near would have laughed if he wasn't hurting so badly, even his teeth! He must have hit his mouth when he went down the stairs that day, he's in so much pain he can't even tell if he's missing some. The simple act of running his tongue along his teeth even hurt.

"Do you really think that's funny? Huh?!" He smacks the child. "I can tell you jokes as well, my personal favorite is" He grabs the boy by the hair and throws him into the wall.

Near could only whimper when the side of his head smacked into the wall.

"Its a great little joke, but how does it go?" Gevanni leaves the bed and walks across the room.

Leaned against the wall, more alert, Near watches the man's movements. He thought about running, but he knew he wouldn't get far, his wrist and ankles are bolted to the floor right at the four corners of the bed.

"Yes, that's right." He calmed his pressing anger as he grabbed a pair of pliers. "The dentist tells his patient its his first time, and the patient says well that's okay and takes a seat. Once he's all strapped into the chair the dentist looks at the patient and says, well, it sort of _is_ a problem because I really only know how to remove teeth."

Approaching the bed, he smirks at the shrinking teen. Grabbing his jaw hard enough to leave a welt, he gives it a squeeze to force it open. Sticking the tool into Near's mouth, he clamps its pincers around the front tooth.

"I don't have to do this. Its only a formaility." Gevanni applies a little pressure, smiling at the teen's expression of distressed plea. "If you say you're sorry, and never do it again... I'll let you keep your teeth." He caresses Near's face tenderly. "Right? That's pretty fair, don't you think?"

Nodding, Near visibly shows off his relief when Gevanni backed the pliers away from his mouth. "...I'm sorry."

"That's better."

Swallowing, and instantly regretting it afterwards, Near asks in a tight voice. He's got his own anger to deal with over the situation without adding nervousness to the mix. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you let me." Gevanni said very matter-of-factly. "Now, back to work or you won't get your supper."

Grabbing him by the back of the head, he shoves Near's face against his crotch, turning so that he's sitting and Near is sitting in on bent knees between his legs.

Sighing. He thought. _"What choice do I have?"_ And he went to work pleasuring the man he'd once seen as kind. _"This is my own fault. Matt. Mello... I'm sorry."_

_It went on like that, day after day I found I was either being beaten or raped. It was getting so that all I could do was sleep through it or shut off. I wish I could be more descriptive to you about it, but it was like some slow motion horror movie trailor. You'd see clips of the evil doings, but you're never really made clear of what's happening._

_But, there were some days I'd have to go without food because he left for business meetings, but I had water from the sink located four feet from the bed. Its a large tub-like sink. Maybe you'd wash a dog in it. But on those days I sat and I thought, and then I got my idea. I was going to make him angry. And he would hurt me bad enough to kill me. And when that day arrived... The strikes stopped having feeling after the first hit. But visually, I knew it was over._

_He must have thought I was dead. Must have thought the blood caked on my body was too much. The lacerations too deep. My slow breathing not enough to convince him my stone-still body wasn't dead. My pulse, however faint, wasn't quitting on me. He believed my unconscious dead-weight was exactly that. If he hadn't... if he knew that I were nothing more than unconscious, he never would have left me unchained from my shackles. He never would have left the door open. And he never would have left the house._

_Slowly. Slowly I got myself up from that cold concrete basement floor. I used the walls, stained with my own blood, to help me make my way to the stairs. I grunted in agony when pain shot up my tailbone, traveling the full length of my spine and slamming full force into the base of the back of my head. But that wasn't going to stop me from leaving. This was my only chance for escape. My pain could come later, and it was minor almost nothing compared to the torture that went on in that house for months._

_When I got out of the basement, the pain in my spine dropped me to the floor on my hands and knees. I stared at my outline in the polished kitchen floor; there's blood there as well. He'd know that I escaped, know that I wasn't dead after all. I hoped that I was away by then. A police station. A cheap hotel room. Even the agency that I'd ran away from in the first place was a better option than this current situation I've been bound to._

_"Get up, dammit!" I barked in my dry rasp of a voice._

_Its been so long since I've heard anything from myself beyond a drunken whimper, a moan, or the forced sexual comments asked of me from HIM._

_I couldn't go out the back, its fenced off. I saw that much through the large glass doors beside the kitchenette booth, in the thirty seconds I got to see of the home before I was whisked off downstairs into that basement for months, maybe even a years worth of torture._

_But did I question why? No. I knew why. It was because I unknowingly walked right into it under the belief that I was avoiding a much greater evil... Irony is a bitch._

_I was almost free, I only had to make it down to the street. It would only take 23 stairs. And that's when my second problem began taking place. Wonder how Matt and Mello were doing without me?_

"So how do you think he's doing?" Matt steps on a daisy growing up through the park dirt. Twisting his foot, he looks at his counterpart.

"Who?"

Mello's been staring off into space again, which is why Matt asked. The two haven't seen the stone-faced teen since leaving the hotel that morning in August. Its April now! Where the hell is he? Back when they first realized the little cotton top was gone; Matt would freeze up or tense up every time they'd round a corner. He figured that Near had done a little 'alone time' work and they'd find him splayed about their usual sitting area, after some John was done with him. But then he recalled something like that really isn't what John's do, that sort of thing was more crime boss shit.

"You know damn well, 'who' Mel', Near." Matt turns to face his spacey lover.

"Oh him, who cares." Mello infringes upon Matt's personal space, by snagging the pack of cigarettes from his jeans back pocket. "I'm sure he's off trying to figure out how to get off the streets again."

"For nine months?" He removes a cigarette of his own, tapping it to the tip of Mello's until its lit. "Think he's done it?"

"Probably. Its been nine months." He blows a nicotine cloud into the wind.

"Think when he gets a little more pound, he'll come back for us?" He asked in sincere thought.

"No, Matty, I don't think he'll come back for us." He shoves him. "Besides, I doubt the little spaz could find himself a job if it was all that hard in the first place." Stuffing his hands into his pocket, he begins to walk. "He probably caved and went back to that orphanage he talked about."

Blowing out a thoughtful puff, Matt wet his mouth with a nod. "Yeah, I forgot all about that. ...Too bad he realized his mistake too late. Poor guy's probably really fucked up now."

"Can we not talk about him, hm? He's gone. So what." Wrapping his arms around the male's waist, he rests his chin on Matt's shoulder. "You'd better not think about dipping out on me someday."

"Wouldn't dream of it, you bring home the most bacon." He shot a kiss over his shoulder, it landed Mello on the nose.

Snickering, he wipes the light moisture away, releasing Matt in the process. "Stop making me sound like a John." Tossing his cigarette to the grass, he crushes it to snub out the burn.

"Sorry." With an impish smirk, he adds. "Wanna screw around? I'll give you a discount."

Shoving Matt again, he then gears up to punch the smart-ass on the arm until noticing an approaching stranger. "Matty," He nods. "look at the asylum escapee."

Matt was speechless at the sight of the lank man heading their way at a leisurely pace, but he's for sure coming to them. "Can we help you?" Matt asks when the stranger is close enough.

"No. I don't think that you can." He looks amongst the two, then down at their side as if an invisible man might be their at a shorter height. "You could tell me where your friend is, the one with the white hair?"

"You mean, Near?" Matt asks while removing his goggles for a look with a little less orange to it.

He's even more surprised by the man's odd appearance. Black, white, and blue accented all over. He has an icepop to match his blue jeans. The man looked at them though, as if they were the odd balls. They could imagine that they did look a little rustic, being homeless and all.

"Yes, I believe that was his name." Replied the man deciding that his frozen treat were suddenly more important than their conversation, because he turned away from them to suck on it as he took his leave.

Not liking his show of interest in the missing friend, Mello follows after him and spins him around by the shoulder. "Why are you asking about Near? How the hell do you know him?"

"We used to talk." The man replied dully. "I wondered how he was doing, and figured since its such a beautiful day maybe he'd like to play chess with me." He points to one of the stone tables where boards and pieces are set up for anyone interested in playing a game. "But since he's no longer with you, I guess his plan worked out. Sorry to have bothered you." He turns again to leave, but he's again stopped by Mello.

"What plan?" He snips. "He never said anything to us about leaving. We thought he'd gone back to the orphanage."

"That's because he couldn't be your burden anymore... nor let his feelings for you burden him." Talking around the popcicle, he adds. "Near said that he wanted to rent a room with someone. If you're looking for him, you can try finding out something about that."

"We're not looking for him... and if you see him before us, you can tell that little rat to stay gone." Mello grabbed Matt by the bicep and dragged him out of the park. "That kid's got some nerve."

"Does that mean we're gonna look for him?" Matt asks straightening from his dragged state.

"Only so we can kill him for not telling us, then he can do whatever he wants." Replied the disgruntled blond. _"The little freak had better be all right."_

8 8 8

"Can you hear me, Near?" Gevanni calls to the slowly rousing male. "Near? Wake up."

Near groaned.

"I can't believe you're alive."

"What do you..." He grunts when trying to sit up. "mean?"

Gevanni studies the male's battered face. Those few days without beatings have somewhat lessened the purpled bruises, but overall the kid is a nasty mess. And that fall didn't help it. He'd been coming home with a buddy to despose of the corpse in his basement and is instead greeted by the sight of him tripping over weak feet and toppling down the long row of stairs that lead up the hill to his home.

The teen offered him a blank expression when waking up, where he should be terrified. His friend, Rester was just as surprised, moreso when asked to treat the injured male's wounds. He's a licensed doctor. But he told Gevanni that he'll need Arthur's help to set the broken arm, he could slip him into the hospital's free clinic to get it done; all of which the F.B.I agent agreed to before his friend took leave. He does not want to be identified if the kid gets away again.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He asks brushing off the male's question.

Near looked at him. "Two. What happened?"

"You fell again."

"Again? Do I do that a lot?" Near looks around the room confused. "Do I know you?"

"I... you don't remember who I am?"

The blank expression said it all, and Gevanni got a sort of sick look on his face. He wasn't sure he'd ever been this happy before in his life. Not since the last one. Which is why he asked. "What do you remember?"

Near thought about this, then replied. "Waking up and having this conversation."

"Your..." And Gevanni was going into acting mode now. "You must have amnesia, oh no..." He shakes his head in dismay, a sad expression gracing his face. "All things considered, you could have died on those stairs." He hugs the confused teen. "I'm so glad that you're all right."

"My body hurts.." He complained in a groan.

"It was a very nasty fall." Gevanni takes a seat beside the boy on the couch. "Near..."

Cutting him off, he asks. "What was I doing out there?"

"Its a little awkward to explain. I think you had better rest for today." He says. "I'll tell you after you've eaten and slept. Okay?"

Nodding, though he seems unsure, Near lays back on the couch and closes his eyes.

_He fed me as many lies then as he had when I'd first met him. He told me that I was his butler, that I'd started working for him last year. And we had a close relationship- like friends, and one night it grew into more. That I'd made the first move, and he was reluctant, but it turned out that he liked me too. I didn't know what else to think, because I didn't know anything else. I believed him and that was that..._


	4. Pure Mind, But My Body is a Hooker

_I slept there, in another room in that large home. It wasn't easy falling asleep, but I somehow managed to get there; it was hard because I had a lot of work to do before I felt comfortable enough to drop off, namely it was having to ignore the very uncomfortable atmosphere that I was resting in. I didn't know of the real danger of Gevanni at the time, but I remember thinking it was weird the way he'd kept walking back and forth past the room's open entrance. It was a mix of concern and predatory looming, that's what I'd felt at the time._

_I lay there awake, wondering about myself... was I avidly clumsy? Or did I simply trip, and he decided to lie to me for whatever reason. I couldn't figure it out on any end. But I came to the conclusion that if I were with him then his word must be the truth. Who would need to make up something so simple just to have someone around? He could have lied and said that I was his kid, he could have said anything really, but instead he told me that he'd speak to me once I'd rested._

_I was nervous of that, but at the same time I was glad that he'd wanted to explain. I can remember my thoughts and feelings on the matter, but thinking back on them now, I was just being stupid twice. I had somehow managed to fall asleep in that big soft bed, probably my bodies way of knowing it hasn't slept so good in a very long time due to being twisted in knot after sexual knot for the sake of my captor getting off._

_When I woke up, the morning didn't go as I'd expected it to._

Near's feet pad down the hallway toward the stairs in light thumps along the polished floor. He hadn't expected Gevanni to call him, namely because he didn't think that the man would be in his bedroom at this hour. Most people are up well past the late hours of ten or eleven, but in the morning they get up, eat, and leave for work. So why on Earth is the man in bed around six?

"Near?" The homeowner called when hearing the teen's footsteps. "I'm surprised you're awake so soon, come in here."

Guarded, the teen ceases his trail to the stairs and walks, instead, over to Gevanni's bedroom which he was just about to pass before the man had called to him. The homeowner is dressed in pale green pajamas, which even from the distance Near can see are making his dark green eyes really pop. His heart fluttered, but his head seemed to think of that old saying.

_'The green-eyed monster.'_ He thinks.

Touching the door frame, he seemed only interested in lurking in the doorway. He'd really of rather walked in to the man dressed and getting ready for work, not seated comfortably in bed reading a book like he has all the time in the world.

"Near?"

"Is that really my name?" He asks.

Near sees the man's beckoning gesture, but hesitates all the same.

"As far as I know," He moves the comforter over. "its the only name you'd told me when we first met a while back."

Seeing that the man is about to get up, Near reluctantly enters the room and moves over to the bed. Gevanni's brows raise, and he glances casually beside him at the open spot on the bed. An invite. Near swallowed back his nerves and climbed into the bed. It felt strange being close to an older man, although he's unsure of his own age at the moment; but he'd caught a glimpse of his battered face in a mirror in the bedroom he'd just left, and he looks around 12 or 14 years old. He feels older though.

Gevanni grabbed Near around the shoulders to bring him in close to rest up against him, like a parent would hold a child after they've had a nightmare in the middle of the night, he even rested his head upon the top of the boy's when he's leaned over.

"I suppose I should give you those answers you've been wondering about." Gevanni closes his eyes. "You're a runaway, sort of, you'd told me that you've been living on the streets and that you were sick of it. I don't know about your parents or the situation precisely, but I do know that you were looking for help out of the situation." He chuckles. "And you asked me what I do for a living, so I figured you were looking for a job, and since I think the F.B.I isn't ready for a child to be working for them, I offered you a job as my butler." He looks around the bedroom. "Its a big house, you might have noticed that on the way upstairs, so the pay was fair for the amount of work you'd be doing, and you agreed to do it."

"I did?"

"Mm." He intones. "...You're really good at it, you even cook! That was a nice surprise considering I eat out or order in usually."

Near can feel the corner of Gevanni's mouth come up from where he must be smiling at his impression of him. He wondered if he can remember how to cook now that he doesn't remember anything? What good will he be if he can't even properly clean a house? Will he be out of the job and back on the streets? That sounds horrible! What must street life be like that he would have put his trust in a stranger just to get away from it?

"So, I'm your butler and private chef?"

"Yes. You live here, you've been with me for a long time." Gevanni releases the male. "We've sort of grown a mutual affection for each other."

Near's eyes widen in wonder. "You're saying we're lovers?"

"Its embarrassing to admit it when you've lost your memory, but yes, we are."

"How old am I?" He questions quickly.

"You told me eighteen, but I didn't believe you- you look so young after all- but you insisted." He's holding the younger male's shoulders again, rubbing his arms up and down to be comforting. "We've... been intimate, that was when you'd told me your real age. You felt guilty for tricking me, and I felt terrible for being with you. But you told me that its just us in this house, and it shouldn't matter what the world thinks because they'd never know."

_'Is that something I'd say?'_ Near wonders to himself. _'Am I an ageless lover?'_ He turns his head to look at Gevanni, to size up the age difference. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty three."

"To my?"

"Sixteen."

He nods to confirm something with himself. "And what about the fall?"

"The fall happened because you told me that you have weak legs, for some reason you can't walk around for too long without your legs getting shaky. I thought you were kidding, until the first time you fell."

"When was that?"

"In the fall last year. You'd taken a spill down the stairs when you brought the laundry basket up," He smiles wearily and scratches the back of his head. "guess you could thank clean towels for breaking your fall- although, you did sort of slip down when going up, so the trip was mostly gut until your feet caught and you went sailing backwards." His dismayed feeling then turned into a laugh. "It was scary, but I never would have believed it if I weren't there to witness it."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Causing you so much trouble, I sound like a real handful with lame legs."

Snickering, Gevanni kisses Near on the top of his head. "No. You're a pleasure in every way."

Near watches the hand that's now lowered onto his thigh as its making lazy circles around and around, it was making butterflies dance around in his stomach without his being sure if its from unknown excitement towards the man, or if its repulse because at the moment he doesn't know him but he doesn't push the hand away, only studies it.

"I'd better start work."

"At seven in the evening?" Sincerely confused, he then smiles it off and shakes his head. "How 'bout we take a personal day, and just lay around in bed together?"

"It feels wrong."

His back hits the pillow and mattress, pressing farther down into it when Gevanni lays halfway on top of him, his one leg is trapped between the homeowner's two. Near felt those butterflies again when Gevanni nibbles on his neck.

"No." He shoves him on the chest. "I can't do this right now."

Gevanni sat up and moved back, he looked hurt but it also looked sort of annoyed? Near wasn't sure, but at least he backed off.

"I just can't feel anything towards you, when I'm still confused about everything."

He sighed heavily in resignation but moved away, infact, he left the bed altogether. "I'm gonna make us breakfast, I can at least manage that to come out decently."

Leaning over, the homeowner paused when Near moved back from his advance, and instead of kissing him on the lips as intended, he moves it to the teen's cheek instead.

"Just resting today, okay?" He repeats his earlier order.

"Fine."

Near watches his employer leave the room, and finds himself slipping down under the covers in order to hide himself. He'd of gone back to his room, but he knew the man would just go in there with him to have breakfast. He's got so many thoughts and feelings running through his head he doesn't know which to address first for further inspection. He looks his battered hands over and sees many calluses and bruises there. The bruises undoubtedly came from the fall outside, but the calluses look as though they really may have come from excessive work: washing dishes, polishing things, yard work.

But what about his wrist and ankles? It looks as though he's got bruising there from wearing cuffs or restraints? What are those from? Gripping his purple wrist, he frowns. It feels like he's missing something. There are so many holes left. Why did he live on the streets? What was he running away from? Trying to think about it was getting him nowhere, his mind is just static. Maybe he should just go with what Gevanni says and hope its the truth, if things are shady anywhere, he can just leave.

_'But can I be his lover? I don't even know him.'_

He can smell bacon drifting through the air, the scent waters his mouth instantly. He didn't realize how hungry he was until just now. He must have been on the streets longer than a couple days to be nearly starved to death; Near had also noticed, after doing a body check, that he's unusually thin- malnourish would describe it best. He's been working for the man since last year, he said, so than why is he so thin? He was embarrassed to believe that he might be one of those scrawny teens that never gains weight and gets pushed around because of it; and his youthful looks aren't helping his wonders about his metabolism.

A sweet scent blew through next, like peaches. It was less appetizing, but his stomach growled in agony all the same. By the time the scent of coffee reached his nose, the teen had drifted off to sleep again having to be awakened when the meal was prepared and brought up to him.

Gevanni smiled at the beautiful sight before him; Near's pale face and hair against his white blanket and sheets, he looked just like a sleeping Angel. Setting the tray down on the nightstand, he leans over the boy and smiles a little differently than before. This one seems more pleased rather than awed; brushing his fingers through the soft white locks, he leans in closer and gives him a sweet peck on the lips.

Near groaned drowsily, until he felt a peek of something moist brush the inside of his upper lip. "Mm." He protest to the intrusion, waking himself up completely as fast as he could when realizing what just happened.

It was that instant that he'd decided he does not like to be kissed in his sleep. Its creepy, like wanting to make out with the unconscious or the dead. He can feel his hair being brushed right before he sits up, rubbing his eyes.

"I didn't mean to take so long with breakfast; do you prefer coffee or tea? I've got a Keurig, so either isn't a problem to make." He takes a seat on the bed. Grabbing a white bowl he sets it down on the awakened Angel's thighs.

Near looked down at the bowl, and a little passed it at the intrusive hand that's- just happened- to brush his crotch when the bowl was set down. An innocent act, or intentional? He isn't sure. Either way, if they're lovers- on his initiation- he supposed Gevanni is going to behave this way, whether Near remembers him or not. Its like reflexes, maybe.

"Oatmeal." He frowns at it. "I don't really like sweet things."

**"Then why'd you ask for it?"** Came a stranger's voice from over by the door.

"I wasn't planning on putting sugar in it." Near says very casually out loud, because for some reason the voice was so familiar to him, but when realizing that it was not Gevanni who had spoken, he gasps knowing that he just to spoke to a disembodied voice. Looking over at the entrance, he frowns.

"That's why I didn't sugar it..." Gevanni says in an odd sort of way.

Near spared him a glance, then continues looking around the room as if the culprit might show up at the door. No one is there. But he refused to believe that he's hearing things or that he's going mad, so turning his dark gaze to Gevanni, he can only blinks at the man's curious expression and ask. "Is someone else here?"

"What do you mean? Did you see someone?" He gets up from the bed and checks around in the hall by looking left then right. "No one's here."

"Oh. I must have heard someone next door then."

Frowning, he replies carefully. "Noone lives close enough to be heard. Are you feeling ok? Would you rather sleep some more?" He touches a hand to the male's forehead. "You're a little warm... maybe you're sick."

"I..."

"I'll get the thermometer. Wait here; have some orange juice." He leaves the room in a hurry.

"Feel fine." He finishes his earlier sentence.

Touching a hand to his forehead, he does notice he's a little hot. He couldn't help smiling at the sweetness of being cared for like this; it made him touch his afore-kissed lips, thinking now that's it kind of sweet. _'Maybe I am worked up over nothing.'_

He looks down at the steaming bowl of oatmeal, taking a bite he notes that there is, infact, no sugar in it. Its not bad this way, he prefers it to having it swimming in sugary mucus. Taking another spoonful, he lowers the silverware into the bowl when Gevanni walks back into the bedroom.

"Here, put this under your tongue."

Opening his mouth the instrument is stuck beneath his tongue, then he clamps down on it. Gevanni pours them both a cup of tea from the silver kettle, but the cup for Near is left on the tray beside the plate of bacon.

When the beep went off, the man pulled the thermometer free and looks at the reading. "Wow. One hundred. I think you'd better take it easy for a day or two. The house is spotless, it doesn't need cleaning for a while, and like I'd said, I can manage a few meals."

"So I can expect breakfast for lunch and dinner as well?" Near teased.

"Oh you're funny." He pops the teen with the pillow that was on his side of the bed. "Eat your breakfast."

Snickering, Near spoons a bite of oatmeal into Gevanni's mouth, then takes one of his own. He doesn't shy away when the man touches his cheek, infact, he nuzzles his cheek into the touch. He may not remember having feelings for the man, but seeing how caring he is for him, he's starting to get a sense of how he could fall for him. If he's always been this kind and caring then it makes sense. He felt a slight elevation, and raised the bowl from his lap so the warmth won't further it along. He may not mind the kindness, and the later idea of them kissing but he's not ready for sex. Even if they've already been together.

Finishing his bowl of oats, he then set the bowl onto the tray beside the bed. He downed three strips of the fatback bacon, and drank the entire cup of tea in one shot, coughing when a drip went almost down the wrong tube.

"So," Gevanni says in a folksy tone. "can I join you in bed, or are we still not feeling comfortable being close to me?"

Near scoffs. "Get in. I hate whining."

Gevanni climbs into the bed and slips under the blanket; he'd barely touched a bite of his breakfast, not when he'd rather have dessert it seems. His arm snaked around Near's waist, tugging him down into a lay after which he pulled him close against his body. Near can't help but close his eyes in a pleased shiver of how nice the added body heat felt inside of him. He didn't even know he was cold until Gevanni was resting against his back.

If Near had wondered if the man had seen his semi-hardon, he got his answer because he's getting cupped and kneaded right below it, through his borrowed pajamas. The only thing keeping the borrowed pajamas up were the drawstring on the pants, the shirt was completely loose around his chest and shoulders. He would have wondered about why he doesn't have nightclothes of his own, since he's been here for so long but the kneading hand is so present... that he can't really think of anything at the moment except that it feels good.

His hips sway forward into the palming; his back arches, and he rests his head on the man's shoulder. Humming his pleasure, he let out one sigh after another; his hand moves on its own to grip the man below the buttock to give him some rocking support. The teen couldn't hold back the moan when Gevanni's lips nipped and licked at his jaw line and neck; how can a pair of lips feel so good just by touching you a certain way?

"Don't..." He's cut off by himself sighing in need again. "you think you'll catch my sickness?"

"It just seems like a head-cold." Gevanni whispered into his shoulder before unleashing his tantalizing kisses onto it.

A heated sigh left the man's mouth when Near's rocking hips pressed into his crotch, grinding him to hard; and he's loving the hand on the back of his head threading in and out of his hair. Near couldn't help but think that this was a little unfair. He wasn't really sure if he were into the man and he just sneak attacked him with sexual foreplay. How could he just stop when Gevanni's touch feels so good? He got his answer again, when the man rolled him onto his stomach and raised his butt in the air. Near suddenly felt very modest, and found himself attempting to buck his "lover" off.

"I'm not ready for that." He pants. "We can finish what we're doing, but, can we not do that?"

Gevanni sighed again; Near, like the other times he'd refused the man in some way, thought that the sigh sounded kind of fed-up, or maybe resigning like he expects him to do everything he says with no consideration to how he feels, considering that he's the one with amnesia. They're not married, so why the Husband-with-needs routine?

"That's ok, just keep your legs together." He instructs.

Kneading the teen's buttocks with palm and thumb, Gevanni showed Near why it was 'Ok' when he shoved his manhood between his clamped back thighs and began to thrust back and down between them. the teen couldn't believe he felt himself move again, but it seemed that having the man working himself in and out between his legs while his member brushed beneath Near's sack was something of a mental orgasm because he arched into more contact from Gevanni's weight against him, plus into the man's hand on his length, and the member rubbing friction against his nether region. They gasped and moaned into a swirl of mutual, technical, masturbation and handjob. Between his body and the mattress Gevanni is stroking away at Near, rough and light tugs alternating and shuffling, it was mind blowing... but since that wasn't possible it blew something else instead.

The two cried out in near unison and shot onto the bed, before collapsing right into it directly after.

Groaning to himself, he closed his eyes feeling spent and damn near exhausted. Maybe he really is sick.

8 8 8

_Near. At that time just thinking his name could piss me off. The guy comes along and hangs out with us then fucks off like it's no big deal! Were we not allowed to worry about him or care? Were we just caretakers until he'd found better? What about Matt and me, did we not want better?! We could have all be in on his plans or whatever he wanted to call it, when he ditched the two of us only to come back after being fucked over, once again, by society._

_I couldn't believe that we spent any time at all looking for him when it seemed like he wanted to be gone, but Matt and I searched regardless. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to find someone who's become invisible to normal society?_

"Are you sure that your friend is actually missing, and hasn't just... found another area tooo" He searches for a polite and correct word. "_pollinate_?"

Mello's scoff was heard round the world, and he nearly balled up his fist to introduce to the officer's face but he roped it in for Near's sake. He won't be found if he gets thrown in jail on charges of assaulting an officer or four. He sure as Hell can't bribe them because he'd also be arrested for that! Although, what's so wrong with paying someone to find someone?

"I know what you're thinking, and you've got a lot of fucking nerve." His knuckles popped he'd balled his hands up so tightly. "We're people _too_, our missing isn't any plus for society."

Officer Marcos rolled his sleepy blue eyes, and begged to differ. He wished like Hell anyone else was at the front desk today. He doesn't wanna deal with this bullshit. Tch. Missing prostitutes, good riddance in his opinion. They're nothing but money hungry whores wandering the good streets of society, for little more than making husbands look like assholes, or young boys feel like men. It's disgusting! If one is missing then why not two- or three! Maybe they'll get lucky and hear about a few more missing from where its become a seriel murderer case. Ha! The Chicago P.D would never get that lucky.

"What was his name again?" Marcos asked.

"Near..." His eyes clamped shut as he felt that mental pop on the head.

With a snort the man repeats the "name". "What do you think we are miracle workers? Near is not a name."

"I meant to say something else." Snapped the blond. "Shit, what was his name?" He wonders, trying his damndest to throw his mind back into the past.

"Nate River." Matt piped up in the background.

He didn't wanna deal with anyone at all in the matter, though going to the police was his idea. Mello thought they'd go door to door and force him out. They might find him, they might not, but at least they looked. He really doesn't believe that he got picked up by trafficers. People are people, they all look the same. No John comes along and screams Human Trafficer! No. They look like uncles, fathers, grandfathers, and Mr, fucking, Rogers. Not the thugs and hoodlums movies drum them up as.

"Here." He says to the cop.

Standing from his seat on the bench, he strides over to the large counter with something in his hand. Mello side-eyes the piece of paper, spotting a very familiar face scribbled on it. Its dropped onto the counter top, where the cop slides it over to himself to look at.

He snorts again, it seemed to be his thing. "This the kid?"

"He's sixteen." Matt replies, speaking to the officer more mellow than Mello. "And we know he's missing because he's never been away from us longer than a short week's time. So can you look, please? If no one's too busy?"

Seeming more satisfied with the respect he believes he deserves, the cop appears more compliant to listen. "Since you asked so _nicely_, I'll get someone on it."

"We don't have a number or anything, so can you just tell us what you know when we come back in?"

"Sure thing." He grins, his chubby cheeks flub out a little more. Scratching his pen through his thick brown hair, he adds. "And hey, you have a nice day." He cast Mello a snarl, before walking off to hand the photo to a field officer.

Mello only blinked at his lover, having no idea that he was capable of basic human social skills. And the red head only shrugged indifferently, and strolls from the police station.

"Since when can you draw?" He asks once they're outside. He didn't even see Matt grab the flyer which he drew on the back of.

The busy sidewalks have thinned a bit in the April wind, and people would much rather be inside snuggling or whatever people do in their homes. It's a treat for them, because they don't have to lose each other for minutes at a time, or hold hands to stick together in the fray like a couple of queers.

"I've always known how to draw, it just came to me one day."

"Huh..." He pontificates the scrawny male beside him in a new light; he's just full of surprises. "Good thing too, we'd never get anywhere with those asses." He looks over his shoulder. "Ya terpet' ne mogu etikh lyudey."

"Language!" Matt mock scolded from offense.

Shoving him, he snickers. "Oh, shut up. You don't even know what I said."

"Sure I do, blah bluh blee blah bluh." He's lighting up a cigarette. "You think it'll get us anywhere? Seriously, that guy seemed almost happy that Near's missing."

"He'd better care. I don't wanna get some friends of mine to pay the precinct a visit."

"Mafia Mello," He chuckles out a stream of smoke. "you're killing me."

"Its true!"

"Mhm. Meanwhile, I didn't know you cared about the kid so much." He nearly snaps his neck staring down a particularly good looking gaming system on a flyer at the Walmart they're passing. Too bad he doesn't have a tv. "I think he had a crush on you myself." He blows out another puff.

"Shut up, Matty, I'm serious. I don't wanna hear shit like that." He stuffs his hands into his pockets. The April chill is biting today.

That only made the mischevous red head laugh a little more. "You liked him too, didn't you?!" He threw his head back and laughed. "That's so sweeet- Whoa!"

"I said shut up!" Mello stuffs his freed hand back into his pocket after shoving Matt into a pile of, thankfully, empty trash bins.

"That only validates my statement!" He called on ahead to him, still with a laugh in his tone.

_I shouldn't have to admit that I liked him. If I did- and that's a pretty big IF- it only made me think that we needed to find him sooner, before I had to go through seeing his splayed out body on the street somewhere._

_It was thinking that dark thought that made me realize that we needed to look on a more personal level ourselves. The police have their way of looking, through flyers and other useless shit like that, but we're from the darker parts of life, we can get answers that they can't. People will talk to us a lot sooner and more honestly than they would a cop. No John is dumb enough, bold enough, or cares enough to go and reveal their faces in association with filthy whores like us. So in the afternoon Matt and I went on a verbal hunt for a predator._

Mello's leg is stretched over the shoulder of the driver's side of the front seat in a hot yellow convertible, with its black top up, none can see that he's splayed out and naked from the waist down. His head is thrown back and he's moaning like a ghost, but its an act really because his mind is elsewhere during this little tea-bagging session. He wouldn't have been feeling it either way because the guy isn't very good at it, and all you're doing is bobbing your mouth around some balls! How hard is that to get right?

"Yeshche... yeshsche.." He pants for more.

"God I love that." The man mumbled around his mouthful.

"Oh good we're talking," Sitting up with his back against the door in the backseat; he remains perfectly comfortable still being splayed out with his leg up on the seat. "listen, there's this little guy me and my friend used to hang with. You can't miss him. He's short, maybe five foot three or one... he's got white hair."

Sweaty, and out of breath from giving Mello what the John considered to have been the time of the street walker's life, he takes a moment to process the question. "White hair? Is he elderly?"

"Hn. He acts that way sometimes, but no he's a kid... sixteen. Albino."

"What, with like those red eyes?" He spreads Mello's thighs apart. "No. Haven't seen him." He's about to go down on him, but he's stopped by a few fingers under the chin.

"I'm not talking about today, I mean in August. I want you to really _think_ about it." Insist the blond. "He wouldn't smile at you, infact, he'd look at you like you're the scum of the Earth."

The man thinks about it; a hand scratches absently through his black hair, the other is jerking on Mello's member. He'd really like to get off sometime today before he has to go back to the office, where he'll be chewed out by his boss because he's not quite finished with the paperwork on the damned company merger.

"Mmm. No. I'd remember someone like that. You and some blonde woman are the only one's I've ever been with." He lays back himself, unzipping to pull himself out. Pointing at his lap, he asks in a hurry. "Can you... please?"

Rolling his eyes, Mello leans forward and stuffs the man's cock past his lips. He may as well earn the money for the day. This is getting them nowhere, they're gonna have to look for older John's they've had. People Near would be comfortable doing solos with- if he took any more wallets before he disappeared.

Matt wasn't having much luck either. Some guy is in balls deep, and they're talking through it- at least, he is.

"He's got white hair, short, a teenager but he looks about thirteen years old." He moaned loudly, since that's what this John wants- to feel like Superman. "He would have been around in the middle of August."

The two rock and pant together, while the man mulls over the description, and time.

"I know who you're talking about, but I never got to know him personally." He kisses Matt's sweaty shoulder, his long red hair clung to the moisture pulling away when he straightens his back to continue plowing his paid hole.

"Ggggod..." Matt groaned when he dropped down on the stone park fountain's edge beside, blue-faced, Mello. "I didn't get anywhere; and my ass hurts- seriously!" He lays himself sideways and stares down at where the blond is seated below him. "What about you?"

"No." He grumped.

Sitting up from his exaggerated lay, Matt moves a little farther down the stone circle so that he can stretch out on his stomach, with his head at Mello's hip. Hand splashing in the cool evening water, he sighs. "I even waited for Evan to finish up so I could ask his guy through the window."

"How could this have happened?!" Mello bellows. "We... didn't even think he'd run off again, we should have followed him that day."

"Think we could have talked him out of it?" Matt turns his head to stare at the bubbling water.

"No. You couldn't tell that brat to do anything." He takes in a deep breath letting it out slowly to try calming himself down. "Let's go out one more time, our usual spot... see if we can get a familiar to ID his location. If he's just walking around the city, somebody has to have seen him."

"Why not ask your mafioso friends?" Matt looks at his lover. "If they'll threaten cops for you, then they might be able to find Near." He scoffs. "Better they go around the trafficking rings than us."

"Mm." He runs his hands through his choppy blond bangs. "Yeah, I lied. And I doubt drug dealers will assist us in finding someone who doesn't work for them."

"Hnhn, yeah. They'd find Near real fast if he owed them money or something."

"Let's keep looking, we're losing daylight."

It took some effort to sit up, Matt meant it when he'd said his ass hurt, but he slowly heads off after Mello to hopefully find some clues at their frequenting spot.

_We didn't know it at the time, and he never would have had a reason to let on that he knew, but when we questioned him about Near, the man had the slightest hesitation before answering us. It was unfortunately done during us giving him a little bat and ball play, so Matt and I had just assumed he hesitated because he was getting off, not because he'd known Near or even where he was if he didn't._

_We stupidly trusted his word, because he's one of our familiars. He's sucked us, fucked us, and even watched Matt and I screwing; so not once did we think he would have lied or withheld anything._

Matt is rocking gingerly into Mello's body, while his lover works on sucking the tall blond man off. The red head's also got his hands palming the guys sack between the to conjoined bodies.

"Oooaaaa!" The John moaned oddly while he thought over the question. "A white haired kid... I saw him with you two when I drove by once, but I've never had the plea-..." He silences while bucking his hips into Mello's mouth. "pleasure."

Mello spat out the release against the guys lap, rolling his eyes when the John began jerking him off. He can't just be happy that he came, he has to get others in on it too.

"How can you be sure he's missing? Isn't he homeless like you?" Holding up a hand he adds. "No offense."

"He's been missing since August, that's how we know." Mello swats the man's hand away. "Besides, he isn't homeless like we're homeless, he sort of ran away from an orphanage."

"Well did you check back there?" The man asked a question so obvious, that it literally blew the twos minds. "He could have just given up on this lifestyle and went back."

"You're right, thanks." Mello shakes the man's sticky hand; nose scrunched he wipes it off on a tissue. Definitely gonna need a gas station trip first.

The trip to the orphanage took some time because locating it was next to impossible. Neither of them remembered if the kid ever told them the name of the place, so they had to once again ask around agency after agency via telephone from the quarters and change they got from the gas station. Locked up in a booth, the two thumb through a very large phonebook for agency numbers.

"I'm calling about a child of yours, a teenager actually." Mello is trying to sound very professional. "He may have lived with you not long ago, his name is Nate River?"

"Oh we're not allowed to give out information about our children unless you've filled out the proper paperwork to start the adoption process."

"Are you serious?" He replied to quickly, then backed it up by saying. "I mean, I'd really just like to know if he's there. I'm worried about him, he's a friend of mine and I'd like to check up on him, and I think he might be there."

"I'm sorry I can't disclose any information on our-.."

"A simple yes or no!" He snaps. "I'm worried about this kid, and this disclosed information is bullshit!"

He listens to the woman speaking with someone else in the background, then a different voice comes on over the phone.

"Who's calling, please?"

"Matt Jeeves, ma'am." He'd snatched the phone from Mello. "I just want to apologize for my friend, he's very concerned about our friend, whom we think may be back at the agency he'd left from. That's all."

"I've actually been wondering about Nate's whereabouts." The other woman says in a relieved, small voice.

"You have?! Does that mean you know him?"

"Yes, he left our facilities last year. Do you know where he is? Is he all right?"

"He was all right up until August last year, now we don't know. That's why we've been calling around." Matt turns the receiver outward so they both can hear the woman. "He's not with us anymore, that's why we thought he was over there."

"No... no, he isn't." She sighs, the strain in her voice was very thick and real. "I've been so worried, my son told me that he'd seen Nate in August but he couldn't keep him in his care." As if their reason for calling dawned on her, she asks. "You mean, he's not even with you anymore?"

"No."

"My God... Do you know where he might be?"

"We're trying to find that out; maybe your son knows more, Misss...?" He trails off.

"Yagami, Sachiko. And you are?"

"Matt and Mihael Jeeves."

"I can send my son to talk with you, if you think it will help... but... where can he find you?"

"Uumm, he can meet us at the coffee shop _Brew in Town_, is he free?"

"He's currently at school, but he can meet you there after. I'll tell him."

"We're a blond and a red head, we'll be sitting together."

"Alright. Thank you for being concerned about our Nate... please help find him."

Her desperation almost broke Matt's heart. He was under the impression that no one cared about Near. But this woman seems to care.

"We will." Matt replies. "Thanks for giving us the information about his not being there."

"You're welcome. Good luck."

"Thank you, bye." He hangs up. "We've gotta wait around for this Yagami kid at the cafe, he'll be out of school in maybe fifteen minutes." Damn he wished he had a watch.

"Let's get there early then, we don't wanna miss him."

"Mihael and Matt?" Light asks when entering the cafe and spotting a blond and a red head as his mother had told him.

He finds the whole situation very odd since it should have been He who is looking for Nate to come back to the orphanage, not a couple off street urchins looking to keep him turning tricks.

"Yeah, sit down." Mello says.

Matt took one look at the guy and lowered his eyes to the table, not in the mood to get into it face to face. The cop was one thing, but he doesn't do well with real conversation. But while he's silent, he can do some better listening.

"How do you know, Nate?" Light asks right off. If these two are gigolos he isn't going to tell them anything. He may even have them arrested.

"He's a close friend of ours," Mello says coolly. "and we've been watching out for him since he left the home your mother runs."

"My mother doesn't run the home, she only works there." Taking a seat, he crosses his arms and legs over themselves.

Mello scoffed, having figured the male for a pretentious body parts crosser. "How do you know him?"

"I've been around when I go there to see my mother or just occupy the older kids."

"Tch. Why do something like that?"

"Because I know how it can be for them when they think that no one cares, and why am I explaining myself to you?" He places his arm on the table to lean in. "And if you've gotten Nate into some kind of trouble, and I find out, you're gonna wish you never met him."

"Yeah right, kid..." Mello retorts. "he sure as Hell was better off with us than he was with the people at that lock-up for cast aways."

"If that were true, than why did he run away from you as well?"

"Because he's... we don't know why he left. But we're gonna find him."

"Hn. You probably molested him the minute he got comfortable." Light sneers at them.

"What did you say?"

Matt watched the 'chew-off' going down from beneath his veil of false absence. The two seemed hell bent on getting under each other's skin. Although that's always Mello's MO.

"Hey," Matt interrupts. "if you don't know where he is that's fine, but at least tell us where the last place was you'd seen him."

"It was at a gas station, he was buying food or something." Light doesn't take his glare from Mello, who meets and counters the stare head-on. "He told me what he's been doing out here, and that I was no longer his concern. He blew me off then and walked away."

"And you didn't see him after that?" Mello managed to cool himself to ask in a normal tone.

"No. I didn't."

"That's exactly how he'd left us." He says to the red head.

"What do you mean?" Light asks.

"We were all at the park, and Near said he wanted to use the bathroom- we don't chaperone bathroom breaks so we didn't think twice about him going." Sighing, he shakes his head. "He didn't come back for hours, then it turned into days- Near has this habit of heading to hotels to cool off or something, but this time he didn't come back. We honestly wouldn't have known he was gone at all if it weren't for some weirdo at the park asking where he was when he saw us. He knew we traveled together, Near must have told him about us when they talked."

"Great. That guy could have been the one who took him, and he's one of those freaks that likes to watch the fallout of the destruction he's caused." Shaking his head in dismay.

"We hadn't even thought of that."

"Would you know him if you saw him?" Light asks.

"Sure, you don't exactly forget a face like that."

"We need to find him, then. I'll have my Dad there to question him, he's the head of the police department."

"Hn. Figures."

Light didn't delve into that comment, but he was done talking. "I'm going. I'll meet you here tomorrow, same time."

"Alright."

Light got up from his seat and exits the coffee shop. A dark haired man had come in after him, waving to a long haired friend of his over by the counter. And joining him, he orders a double shot hazel nut.

"So, Gev', you finally get rid of that mouse problem you were having?" Asks the long haired friend, grinning at his companion.

"It took a surprisingly good turn."

"Oh yeah?" He inquires assuming that the mouse had been disposed of.

"Yeah! Turns out, he wasn't dead afterall." Gevanni shrugs. "Poor little guy was just tuckered out, and when I went to get some help getting rid of him, I came home to find that he'd escaped from his cage and was currently taking a very nasty spill down those pesky front stairs of mine."

The man laughed in disbelief. "Are you kidding? You must have gone berserk seeing him outside."

"I did at first, until.." He leans in to whisper. "the little brat woke up with no memory of what happened."

"You're kidding me?"

"No, Teru, its a thing of beauty... all the time and energy I put into making him the perfect little doll, he's now in the delusion that I'm his employer, he's my butler and chef- and you'll love this- he believes that we were lovers."

Teru almost spritzed his mocha latte clean across the counter with laughter. That was the funniest, richest thing he's ever heard. There is no way that's the truth.

"Are you kidding right now?" He asks. "And you're actually out to avoid going home where you know the cops are waiting for you?"

"I'm not kidding, we just fucked around an hour ago." Gevanni shakes his head. "All that work and it was as simple as a nasty pop to the head."

Teru scoffed. "I should crack mine over the head, that Russian blood has him as quite the little fighter when the whore isn't actually enjoying it."

Gevanni tisked for the poor man. "I told him I was going out to shop- which I am, shopping in a little bit- but, I came here to give you good news."

Adjusting his glasses, he leans in again and mutters. "Maybe we should have a party, and sort of get them all together in the same room and just enjoy the show, maybe have a little eight way?"

"Mmm. That sounds fun, but maybe a little later." Gevanni takes a sip of his caffeine fix. "He's still getting used to it all. But you can come by tonight if you want."

"I might just do that."

"I'd better go. Tell Rester I said 'hey' if you see him."

"I will." He waves his friend off.

Mello has to quickly move out of the way of Gevanni coming by. "Watch it!" He barks at him.

"I'm sorry." He waves a hand out. "Sorry."

Matt gets up from his seat. "We better go before you start another fight with someone else in this place."

"I'm _not_." He insist.

"Alright, so you're not." He shrugs, then slips an arm around his shoulders. "But, let's just call it a day, though. I'm tired, and hungry."

"...Yeah, I guess I am too."

"It'll be better tomorrow." He steers him to the street. "Who knows, we might even find him."

Mello doubted that. But he didn't wanna staunch his enthusiasm because of it. But, he'd sure like to know where the Hell the boy is.

8 8 8

Near closed his drowsy eyes and basked in the steaming hot water drifting around beneath his armpits. He apperantly really needed this bubbly bath, because the dirt had become three other people! He was showering at first, but his tired legs wanted a rest. So shoving the drain's stopper down into the hole, he sat down and let the tub fill up around him. A bath was so much more relaxing, and he enjoyed soaking since he'd scrubbed off a good portion of his dirt during the shower.

Gevanni wanted to go to the store, and told him he'd be back once done which probably wouldn't take long. Near lay in bed, bored and spent with the man gone but then he smelt something just awful coming off of him and he knew it was time for a shower. He's been bathing since the man left an hour ago, and he's just about ready to drift off when the bathroom door opened.

"Near?" Gevanni peeks in. "Enjoying a bath I see." He smiles warmly. "I brought some soup for your cold, and some cold medicine."

"Thank you."

Walking into the bathroom, he takes a seat on the very wide edge of the bathtub. Gently, he brushes his fingertips through the surprisingly hot water. With a smirk, he asks. "You running up my water bill? You look too comfortable for the water to still be this hot."

"I did replenish the heat a couple times." Near admitted.

"It doesn't matter." Leaning over, he kissed the male on the top of his head. "Don't stay in too long, I'm gonna put your soup on."

"Okay."

"And I'm having company over later, so you can come down to meet him or stay up in my room." He seemed not to care which choice he'd taken.

"Meet him?" Near questioned the term.

"You haven't met him before, even before the amnesia."

"Oh."

"Twenty minutes more?"

"Alright."

Smiling, he exits the bathroom, but leaves the once closed door open. The man seems to have a real issue with closed doors. First his bedroom, now the bathroom. What does he think is gonna happen? He'll fall again? Not with the way his exhausted body is moving him around like he's elderly.

Near soaked for 15 more minutes, then he got out and dried himself. But rather than dress, he wrapped himself in Gevanni's big thick black robe, that made his hair stand out like the sun. He made his way carefully down the stairs to the living room then kitchen. He may not know the truth about his fall outside, but he knows its a frightening thing to be true, so he doesn't wanna take any chances. It was probably a miracle in itself that he survived, can't take a chance like that twice.

Smiling, he spreads his arms. "How do I look?" He asked without a hint of the seduction he was casting off.

"Incredibly sexy." Gevanni chuckled feeling heat in his cheek and pants. "But I'm not sure its the best attire for company." Moving over to the male, he wraps his arms around his shorter body. "Are you naked under there?"

"Mhm."

"Wow... umm, maybe later then." Although other parts of him said now was just the right time. "The soup is ready."

"Can I eat it upstairs?"

"Sure. Let me get a tray." He nods towards the stove. "The bowl is over there, and pour yourself some orange juice."

Doing as he's told, he fixes himself a bowl of what he thought would be chicken soup, Mother's cure, but its vegetable. To each his own, he supposed and ladles two big spoonfuls into a blue glass bowl. When he grabbed a glass and moved over to the fridge, he can see Gevanni out of the corner of his eye; he's putting the bowl on the serving tray. Pouring himself a cup of orange juice, he turns and nearly fumbles the glass's contents all over the floor and his hand.

"I'll take that." He grabs the glass and sets it down on the tray. "After you."

The two head upstairs and into Gevanni's bedroom.

_Things were actually kind of nice since I woke up from the fall. He was nice, took care of me; Gevanni put on a shit-eating smile that had me believing that he was kind and sweet, and that all the things he'd told me about us were the truth. I... I actually liked him- even when he was starving for sex that I reluctantly gave him. It was like my body remembered the things I'd done, even if my mind didn't, so it willingly and whole-heartedly responded to any touch or kiss he gave me without hesitation._

_But I should have known something bad was coming when the night of the party came, and I met one of Gevanni's friends, the one who'd came over that day when I was sick. I recognized his voice right away..._

...

Author's Note: I think there's a special place somewhere for brains like mine, but I'm not dead yet! Ahaha. This was my favorite chapter so far, but I can't really say that since I don't what's coming until I type it. So, I hope you enjoyed it and will continue to.

By the way: I hate those people and More is what Mello said- hopefully ^_^


	5. That Couch Looks Better At My House

"Oh, Gevanni?" Mikami smiled as he's greeted by his friend at the door. "I was expecting the little mouse to greet me, but instead its you." He removes his suit jacket, draping it carelessly over the back of the couch. "Don't tell me he's being disobediant already? And after you'd talked him up so much."

"No, no, nothing like that." He gestures to the kitchen where he leads the attorney. "He's got a bit of a cold, so" Trailing off, he grabs some glasses to pour them a drink. "he's resting."

"Resting?" Mikami scoffed. "Now I've heard of everything." He takes a sip from his glass of wine. "Mine doesn't know the meaning of rest- not a proper one anyway."

"Mmm. Well, I want him back in top form, so I've made _allowances_."

"Aaah." He takes a gulp. "I can see him though, right? You've been so selfish about showing him off, and yet Rester got to see him."

"Rester wouldn't have seen him either, if I hadn't thought that he'd died and I needed help with burying him. Good thing I chose him to come over and help, he really came through with treating his injuries." Swirling the red liquid around in the glass, he says with a distant look in his eyes. "Near was like a broken toy or, rather like, road kill by the time we caught up to his fall, he'd of actually been dead if we hadn't gotten back to the house when we did." He shakes his head. "I'm just glad the blood washed away from the concrete so easily."

"How do you catch a cold in seventy three degree weather?"

"Its not seventy three in the basement." Gevanni takes a seat at one of the island counter's stools across from Mikami. "Hnhn, I used to spend the hottest days of summer down there just nailing Damion."

Smiling, Mikami nods. "I remember Damion, used to cry a lot, red hair, freckles on his chest and a little across his nose."

"Yeah..." Gevanni's gaze gets kind of misty recalling some of the finer times with the possibly deceased male. "Its a shame he had to get so mouthy, though."

"But he was cute. ...So, you got a lot from those traffickers you sold him too?"

"Yeah. He paid for that inground outback." He looks over his shoulder. "But his parents were never the same."

"Speaking of parents, how long before I see your Near appearing around as a missing person?"

"He's not a client's kid. He found me on the street, by chance- or I should say- he _thinks_ he's found me by chance."

Mikami raised his brows to that; waving away the offer of a second glass when Gevanni finished pouring some for himself.

"I saw him around last year talking to some guy, I thought he might have been the guy's son but they would always end their conversations by going separate ways. So I waited it out, and lucky me he followed me to my car after we'd had lunch together. Turns out, he's homeless! No one is gonna come looking for him."

"Its about time you got a street rat too. These little suicide heists you've been pulling were starting to make me nervous."

"No. Near is definitely... _definitely_ a keeper. And after getting rid of Damion, he couldn't have come at a better time."

"Good. I'm happy for you." He toast his glass to him. "Just make sure you don't run over any of your lies."

"Trust me, if I have to write it down or put it in my phone's planner... I will not get caught in a lie. And if he happens to find out that I'm not F.B.I. but infact a social worker... I'll tell him I was kidding, and just wanted to talk myself up to avoid sounding like a cheapskate, who couldn't pay him."

Mikami blinked. "Where did you get F.B.I from?"

"I thought it sounded safe, you know, the safer they feel the more likely they are to trust you."

"Which is how Damion, Shaun, and Lincoln ended up in your bed, bath, and beyond. While their arguing families assumed they were sitting nestled somewhat safe in an adoption agency, you'd actually taken them home with you."

Gevanni winked at him as a sign that he was correct.

"Still, you've got nerve telling the same tale three times."

"Its all in the timing." He explains. "Timing and instilling fear. Tell them horror stories when you come to collect them from their house," He uses the tone he puts on when speaking to the children, before telling Mikami the line he feeds them. "I'm so sorry kid, I know what these places are like too. If you're lucky though, you'll only be beaten up or raped three out of the ten times the situation occurs."

Mikami laughs and shakes his head in dismay. "You're very sneaky, I'll give you that."

Gevanni walks over to the stove and takes a spoonful of soup that didn't make it into Near's dinner bowl. It was left on low, so its still nice and hot. If Near had actually been doing his butlering today, the soup would no longer be on the stove and the pot would have been cleaned and put away. Hn. Gevanni actually can't wait to see this whole Butler Story play out.

Thinking on it all, he adds. "Three years apart, six months, four years... nobody questions that adoption homes tend to be horrible places, so if a kid's new to the whole thing and it runs for the hills to my house..." He shrugs. "What can cops and parents do but look until they can't."

"Then the little lost children are just kindling for the fire."

After two more spoonfuls, Gevanni moves the pot to the sink then dumps it over into the divided section with the garbage disposal.

"You wanna hear something funny?" Gevanni asks with a glint in his eyes.

"What?"

"Lincoln's family was on the rocks because his Father was having an affair with the Manny, turns out he was into guys too, and his wife didn't take too well with it. They fought like savages about it; and I was eventually sent to pick the boy up when the Mother wound up hospitalized for stress." He rolled his eyes at the frailty of women. "She didn't trust her husband to be with their son, nor the Manny anymore because she thought if he were sick enough to be gay, any male gender would be seen as a 'turn on'; having no living relatives, she thought he'd be fine in the system until she was out of the hospital."

"I'm not hearing the joke beyond your taking the kid."

"Weeell, let's say he was the one who'd given me the idea of putting Damion into trafficking. He was twelve when I got him, seventy when I let him go, and I believe nineteen when he was fucked by his Father at some shithole the Manny brought him to.

Mikami got it then, and laughed into hunched over the counter top.

"Neither knew a thing during their little threesome until the Dad traumatized the boy by saying..._ "God, that was fucking amazing. What's your name boy?"_ and he told him."

"So that's how it happened? That was all over the news!" Mikami scoffed. "Hell, I represented the kid, and I didn't even know he was with you- not right away. He'd changed so much from that goofy looking but cute kid."

The two laugh at the irony, and sickness of it all. Imagine a father fucking his own son. Imagine the son so out of his mind, and hardened to the situation that he doesn't even recognize his own damned Father, or the events that went on with Gevanni before he wound up in the trafficking system.

"But that won't happen to my Near, I'll keep him like your Beyond." He waves his glass in his friend's direction. "Get them young, train them well, and keep them like well preserved statues."

"True. But be careful with that theory... I think mine is actually starting to like it- and not in the fun way. Hell, he'd even suggested things to do to him- made me sick."

"Hn. Near's a fighter. Even when he's compliant in the lie I told him, the kid still questions things."

"Another peeve, you don't wanna get the ones that are too smart for their own good." He thinks about the male in his home. "Beyond is like _that_ as well. Do you know he once looked at me, dead in the eyes, and slipped his cuffs like it was nothing! As if to say, I can get out and go whenever I like, but I'm sticking around... I even caught the little creep leaving my bedroom once when I got home from work. I beat the shit out of him when he walked back down into the cellar, and he just laughed!"

"Yikes. Why not sell him?"

"He's a good lay! Plus, I think he's harmless and is just trying to rattle me so I let him go." Mikami scoffed at the idea of losing his prized piece. He's worked hard on the male, even if he's starting to creep him out. That's still work put in there. "Maybe we could foursome one time, and he can show you how good he is."

"First an eightway, now a foursome? I'm not sleeping with you."

"So? Don't touch me." Mikami shrugged. "But, we could swap."

"I've told you, Near's not gonna go for that." Gevanni objected. "Besides, I'm still earning his trust while he's compliant. Free sex without the biting, slapping, bitching and so on... I'm gonna milk it while it last; sometimes sex is really good when the other person moves with you. And if I can't cut back, any rough stuff I can say he was into it before. But a foursome? No. Forget it."

"What if, when he's comfortable, we get them on each other... yours- mine- it'll be great."

Gevanni recalled Beyond's sharp Russian features, pale skin, and contortionist flexibility, even his oddly tantilizing voice. The five friends love exposing their playthings to each other, its like showing off. And Mikami has been frontrunner for years with him. But he's pretty sure that his Near will become the envy of them all for a lot longer.

They sit in contemplative silence. Gevanni wondering if Near is as Cirque De Sole as Beyond is when it comes to flexibility- he knows he's pulled the white haired gem past his means when he was down in the basement, but who knows when it comes to stretching. A few forced 'sexercise' positions is hardly stretching for the greatest show on Earth. Maybe they should go to a class at the gym? Mikami is just wondering what the kid looks like, Gevanni's secrecy is eating him!

"I think he might end up like yours, though. He's already hearing voices."

"Might be from the fall. Concussions are mysterious things." Mikami gets up from the stool he's planted himself on. "So, are we gonna go get a look at Sleeping Beauty, or do I have to wait until the party for the unveiling?"

"No. Come on up, just don't wake him." Warns the dolls owner. "I want him to get better, so he can stop pushing me away from fatigue."

"Got it."

_And I didn't hear a word of it "I thought the little mouse would answer the door". That one line, and I didn't like the man. So, I was through with listening to him and climbed back into bed to rest, hoping they'd leave me alone._

_But they were peering into my bedroom; the door is open to the point that it may as well have been removed from the hinges, I'd felt that exposed to them. My back turned, as I was facing that wall, I felt even more naked because I didn't pull the blanket up. I faked sleep while listening to them talk. Mikami sounded like a dirty old man, and Gevanni sounded like a boyfriend pretending not to be annoyed about it. All the more reason I bought his story about our being lovers._

"Wow. He's short." Mikami says when looking in at the male. "But he's cute. Is this for real?" He walks in. Taking a seat on the bed, no hesitance towards behaving as if he owns the place, and he reaches for the teen's snow white hair.

"Would you stop that? You're gonna wake him up." Gevanni walks in, and pulls his friend's hand away. "Of course it is."

"I'd like to watch him clean my house every day." He's about to brush the back of his fingers along Near's jaw, but his arm is pulled back.

"You'd better go. Its late, and I have to work in the morning."

"Nag, nag. I'll see you Tuesday?"

"Saturday, the others have off then."

"Rats. Well, see you later."

"Later."

_'What kind of way is that for friends to talk to each other?'_ He wondered while still poised in false sleep-mode. _'Its like they're trying to secretly talk about something, but what?'_

The sound of dropping clothes caught Near's ear, and he waited for the bed to dip in where Gevanni enters. It wasn't what he'd expected, though. Gevanni climbed into the bed and got comfortable behind him, draping an arm around Near's waist. He seemed to be going to sleep as well. Near slowly exhaled the breath he'd been holding in; he wondered why he continues to get nervous around the man.

_'Maybe I'm nervous because he's older than me? Or maybe its because I don't really remember him.'_ He pretends to have a casual shift in his sleep, when really he's pulling away from the snuggling man. _'He seems sincere enough.'_

He became tense when Gevanni's nose brushed and nuzzled the back of his neck, followed by a warm pair of lips leaving a lazy kiss trail from side to side, then bottom to top. The moment of pause where he swirled his tongue around the beginning of the cervical vertebrea, sent shivers up the teen's spine. He waited for more, for that hand to do something devious... but it never left from around his waist; Gevanni's kisses became lazier and lazier until eventually he fell asleep.

Near lay there for a moment, thinking of what he should do. Common sense and drowsiness won-out, between the soft bed and warm body he was outmatched and closed his eyes allowing sleep to take over him.

_The next few days were nothing special. He told me what was expected of me when I was ready to do my job as a butler. He was very specific about my not cleaning the basement. He told me it didn't need to be cleaned because there's nothing down there but boxes and trunks filled with this and that, that its all already orginized so there was no need to touch it. At the time, I didn't care, it was uninteresting about the reasons why I shouldn't bother with the basement and even moreso the things with in it that shouldn't be bothered with._

_I was a butler and my job was to clean. I was a personal chef, and my job was to cook. I was a lover, and my job was to feel something towards the person who loved me. These thoughts circulated through my thoughts as I cleaned the home, and did my best learning how to cook. And reluctantly gave in whenever he wanted something physical from me._

The mist of lemon scented _**Pledge**_ snows out over the desk top in Gevanni's study. He'd already removed all the items on the desk and set them down on the couch in the center wall beneath the window, before getting down to polishing the wood. The woman in the photo from the desk smiled at him from her dropped off lay on the couch. Near wondered if the man would ever take the photo of the, nameless, woman out and put his picture in the frame. He's never offered to take his picture though. He wondered why. As far as he's concerned people who've been together for some time often have dozens of pictures of eachother. Maybe times have changed since then.

Running the polishing rag down the frame of the desk, he scrubs the wood as vigorously as his strength will allow before wiping it around the outter wall between the two edges. He smiled at the cute response Gevanni gave him about the woman, because he'd wondered if she were his wife. He told Near that he'd never seen the woman in his life personally, that she'd came with the frame. He's been calling her Annalisse.

Near had joked about getting a photo as a cleaning motivation, but he didn't really want to be watched as he moved about the house, photo or otherwise. But, he supposed when he'd thought about it, company while he cleaned would be nice. So he made conversation with the knick-knacks. The pottery shaped like animals, or the artwork with animals in them. There is a small statue of that 'Thinker' in the living room, but all he ever says is "I've got a monster headache!"

He played with them like toys sometimes, like when dusting the elephant's trunk, he'd blow at the tissue while its held right beside it then sneeze as an elephant would. He smiled watching the blown tissue flying in the air like a flag on a windy day. The animals in the paintings would tell stories about how they spent their days walking the Savannah for food or water, and that every now and then someone would come along and take their picture, and that's how they got to be on the wall.

Near walks into the hallway, after replacing everything back onto the desk, and with him he lugs the vacuum cleaner. Sticking the plug into the socket just behind where the chair at the desk should be- the chair was moved into the hall before starting his cleaning- he turns on the machine and slows around the room with it. The sound of dirt and other various unseeables popping and plinking around in the machines bin reminds him of fireworks, the little poppers that you throw. He likes fireworks.

_'I wonder if Gevanni is big on celebrating the fourth of July?'_ Coming over to the couch, he imagines the woman's tiny legs dangling from the frame and says to her. "Watch your feet, please Anna'." And when she moves them, he passes the vacuum along the couch. "Thank you."

When the office was spick and span, and all its contents were returned to where they originally were, he then went into the bathroom. He likes the bathroom, lots of things to polish. And he likes to wipe things clean, and spray the product. The fumes haven't become an issue yet since all the windows in the house are open to let in the nice breeze.

_'Its nice to see that I no longer leave such nasty dirt rings in the tub. I was starting to wonder.' _He thinks as he rinses the _**Scrubbing Bubbles**_ down the drain. _'You'd think I was washing off half of Chicago.'_

_**"Are you kidding? M%$&T leaves the grossest tub rings."**_

Near ignored it. The voice. He's been hearing disembodied voices since the fall and frankly, he's gonna chalk them up to concussion making him delirious. He read up on it in one of the medical books in Gevanni's study; only after wondering why people who aren't doctors got such books. You can't self diagnose, not properly anyway. And what if you did? It may help the doctor but it doesn't prevent the costly trip to be seen. To each his own.

The voices sometimes say names, but they're always garbled and he can't make them out. Another reason to ignore the speaking, because it really seems that they want to make him crazy.

"Done." He says once the whole house is nice and tidy and clean.

Nothing left to do but go room by room spraying _**Pine Sol**_ air freshener to give it that finishing touch. He couldn't help himself for making the job more mentally entertaining, and as he passed by the rooms he'd say "Would you like to try our perfume sample?" then give the room a spritz. The long sentence became a simple "Sample" by the time he'd made it downstairs and into the kitchen.

He started at 8:30 a.m and its now 12:30 p.m. He supposed if he didn't have bum legs and took breaks now and then, the job would have gone faster. But it was fine, he's the only one here, so who's gonna complain?

Time for a much needed break for lunch. With him, as the other days, he has a pad and pen with him to write down a recipe from the cooking channel. He memorizes the method to cook as he watches, then later hands the list off to Gevanni once he gets home from work, so that he can shop for anything the pantry doesn't currently have.

He wanted to leave the house and shop on his own, but he'd only made it down to the street before he realized that he doesn't have any money. So back inside he went to read a book, take a nap, learn a recipe, or sit in the backyard and stare up at the sky.

8 8 8

Near's patting ground hamburger into a ball between his hands. He can smell all the italian seasonings he's put inside of it, and its making his mouth water. Gevanni's in the shower, he just got some bad news at the office- or at least- that's what he'd told him before storming upstairs, and slamming the bedroom door to get on the phone.

Near was sure that the office might have bugged him, but Gevanni really seemed upset over the conversation they had when he'd first walked in. He can still remember that look on his face. It was kind of frightening. He'd only asked a simple question: "Can I go out to shop, so that I don't have to wait for you to get home?" Simple. No. With the way Gevanni panicked you'd think Near said: "Your wife's gone into labor."

"Near, you..." He held back his anger and instead turned it into concern. "You can't go outside. Not until I learn if you're in danger or not; you seemed really scared when you came to me and asked for help. Don't you remember?"

Frowning, brows furrowed enough to make it seem as though he's glaring at his employer. "Obviously I don't!"

Gevanni did the strangest thing right then, he balled up his fist at his side but when he raised his arm it unballed and it looked like he were about to backhand the disgruntled teen, but he caught himself and instead chopped his shoulder like he needed a massage.

"I'm sorry that you lost your memory somewhat, but you really were terrified that day... I want to protect you, but I can't if I'm off at work and you're out galavating like its nothing."

"I just wanted to go to the store, not galavate." Snipped Near. "And now you're telling me that I'm a prisoner because of something that I don't even remember saying?"

"You're not a prisoner." Gevanni snapped. "I just need you stay put for a while. You can go out into the backyard, swim a little... if you know how to use the grill, have a barbecue with some friends." His hand lands roughly on top of Near's head, but he gently tousles the white mop. "Please, trust me."

Still glaring, he reluctantly backed down and nods.

"Good. Now, I have to shower and make a phonecall." He moves to the stairs talking over his shoulder. "Will dinner be done by then?"

"...Sure. We're having spaghetti."

Near's shifting like a child when they no longer wanna talk to their parent because they've either gotten into trouble and are receiving their punishment, or that they know that trouble will soon come to them and they're eager to get away and cover their tracks.

"One of my favorites." Turning around on the fifth step, he says to the male. "Maybe I'll get you a wig, then we can go out to see a movie?"

"Or we could stay inside and watch a DVD?"

"That too. See, you're already thinking like a cheerful home dweller." About-faced, he heads up the stairs.

"I was being sarcastic." Near mumbled under his breath before returning to the kitchen.

Gevanni's been in the shower since then; Near's been busy making dinner, while hoping that the man has cooled off. He doesn't like the idea of Gevanni being mad at him, not when it looked as though he were going to be struck just for getting a tone. How could a man, his lover and employer, be so nice one minute then behave like he's just putting up with him the next?

Stuffing a cube of pepper jack cheese into each ball, he shakes his head ruefully. _'I guess its not really true, he had a bad day at work and he's kind of worked up...'_ He frowned when he realized the pun he'd just made. _'Either way, he's been fair to me so far... he hasn't forced himself on me when I'm not in the mood to be intimate. He hasn't refused me anything. Maybe he'll let me get out of the house when I ask him later, when he's in a better mood.'_ Assured, he continues with his work in a better mood than he was when he'd started.

_I know now that the reason he was so angry, and adamant about me not going outside is because that blond guy... Rester, was it? He'd tipped him off that Mello and Matt were looking for me, and he knew that if his friend took me out into the city they- or one of the many other people who asked about me- would eventually stumble upon me._

_But, since I'd been lied to, I just made myself comfortable with being an unshackled slave._

Near whimpered, and clutched at the side of the pillow beneath his forehead.

Dinner had gone off successfully. Gevanni loved the hidden cheese in the meatballs, and he'd thankfully cooked the spaghetti noodles perfectly this time. The first time he'd made it, the noodles knotted together at the bottom, but the other end fanned out. He still doesn't know how that happened. But he knew better this time around. The meal only struck up a good mood, and lighter conversation about a show Near had watched earlier while he let his legs rest. Jeopardy is really entertaining!

"If I enter you on the show, you could win, and quit this job." Gevanni had joked.

"I'll remember you when I win." Near teased back. "I'll buy you a new butler."

Gevanni laughed handsomely at that. "You're a doll."

"Thank you." Recalling that the man had chopped his shoulder at the door, he says kindly. "I can massage your shoulders if you want." Getting up from his seat, he takes his and Gevanni's plate over to the sink for washing. "You sit in the living room and wait, I won't be long."

"Thank you." He smiled at the boy before getting up to leave.

Near had already washed the pot and pan clean once dinner was cooked, and transferred to a serving bowl. Putting the meal into a large white serving bowl, he had to wash that out as well once the food was out of it. He made enough for three, so there's only one plate of food leftover, and that was scooped out and put into a tupperware to cool. Near is sure to wash his hands after cleaning the dishes, and he dries them on a napkin from the vertical standing holder beside the sink on the counter top. After that, he returned his white uniform gloves over them.

Gevanni caused Near to pause when he'd exited the kitchen and found him laying on his stomach on the couch, arms folded up beneath his resting head in order to be a pillow despite the three actual pillows lining the couch. Shrugging it off, he walks over to the man and playfully climbs onto his back, sitting himself in the dip of his lower back.

"Mm. Cozy?" He asks his rider.

"Maybe not as comfortable as you are." Placing his hands on the man's shoulders, he palms down deep into his knotted flesh.

He didn't need to ask if he were any good at it, Gevanni's pleased humming seemed comment enough. The man lowered his arms from beneath his head to rest down at his sides, but they didn't remain down on the couch, he raised them up so that his hands are resting contently on Near's rump, and they're kneading and squeezing the teen's buttocks through his black work pants.

Chuckling, Near traces a white gloved finger down Gevanni's neck. "It might be a good idea if you rolled over." Standing on his knees, he rest himself back down when the man turns over to lay on his back.

Cupping Near's face, he pulls him down into a kiss. The loving butler rocks his hips down against the man's lap and back into Gevanni's kneading hands. His own hands are busy with massaging his boss's shoulders, and sloppily at that because the shivers up his spine are clouding his brain which is making his movements sluggish.

"Take off your clothes." Gevanni whispered into his ear.

Slowly, Near undresses. He remains on his boss's lap while removing his uniform's gray front and black back vest with the two little buttons, and next his crisp white shirt hits the floor. Recalling a trick he'd once learned, though, thinking on it he isn't sure from where, Near unbuttons his pants and positions Gevanni's hands at the rim. He then grabs the armrest and pulls himself forward up to the man's face; the grip his lover has on his pants pulls them down in a jiff to expose his hidden meats.

Which brings us to the current situation where Gevanni is unable to resist the dangling flesh before his face, and he sucks him into his mouth.

Near whimpered and clutched at the side of the pillow beneath his forehead. He moaned when the tip of Gevanni's tongue swirled around the head of his member and stabbed the slit with the tip. Near's hips jerked back to pull him from the man's mouth, at which point Gevanni's lips move to kiss at his employee's pale thighs, and just past his hardening to the balls of flesh wanting attention as well. Near's hips buck when the moist tongue gave them a sort of punching bag treatment, lapping at them like a pair of fist hitting the hanging bag- no pun intended- until he opens his mouth wide and just takes them in.

Pants down just below the knee; Near's currently slumped over position is enough for Gevanni to get the hindrence out of the way completely, and he discards the slacks to the floor. Groping Near's rear, he's back at kissing the teen's thighs.

"What?" Near pants out after having heard something.

"I said, are you feeling better now?" Gevanni asks again, this time without a mouthful of flesh.

"I feel fine." He replied wondering what that had to do with anything?

Gevanni knows that his health is better, he'd told him so when another bottle of cold medicine was brought into the house. Then it hit him when he felt pressure against his hole from the man's middle finger.

"Oh... Gevanni, maybe we should wait on that. Its been fine doing all the other stuff so far."

"Yes, but, we both know how good it can feel when we do it all the way."

"Actually, I don't."

If he's ever had anal sex, he can't recall it. True, the man has fingered him from time to time, but he's never had IT in there. At least, not that his memory can account for. Damn amnesia. But then, at least its trivial amnesia, he could have had a full blown case on his hands. How do I eat? How do I bathe? What the hell is this thing? Stuff like that. He's just forgotten any part of his being someone. So all he knows is that he's nobody, sprinkled with bits of what Gevanni has told him and molded him to.

Touching the male's cheek tenderly with the back of his hand, he cups it then, saying softly. "Then let me show you."

Looking down into those sincere dark green irises, he draws in a breath then lets it out slowly. "...Alright. But if I want you to stop...?"

With a nod, he says. "I'll stop."

"Okay." Moving to the end of the couch, he waits for the man to undress.

Gevanni had slipped into night pants and a t-shirt after his shower, so undressing wouldn't take him longer than 30 seconds- if that much. So he spent a moment dashing upstairs for lubricant. He's undressed when he returns, and is as casual as having clothes on while walking back over to the couch. Near wondered if they've ever been naked around the house together before. Just naked and comfortable. Because right now, he's feeling the need to cover up.

"I grabbed two, honey scented and musk." He holds them up in presentation.

Cocking a brow, he reaches for the honey. "Does honey have a smell?" He gives it a whiff.

"Musk it is."

Squeezing a glop into his hand, it liquidated instantly in the warmth of his body heat. Stroking it over himself, he then grabs at the tensing teen.

"Maybe you could be the one getting penatrated? Just until I'm comfortable with it."

His eyes narrowed a hair. "How will you ever be comfortable with it, if you won't just dive right in?" He asks; grabbing a hold of Near's hips, he lays back on the couch pulling him over on top of him. "Besides, I've never been on the bottom before. I'm a top."

"How is it fair that you're nervous, but I can't be?"

"Because you've already done this before."

"But I don't know that."

"Fine!" He snapped. "Is this proof enough?!"

"Wait! Wait!"

He grit his teeth when Gevanni's rock hard member dove up into him like an Olympic diver in reverse. His eyes shut tight, he waits for the pain to further but it wasn't bad beyond the initial intake. That didn't staunch the teen's anger though.

"See. That didn't hurt too much, now did it?" Gevanni asked when Near opened his eyes and glared down at him.

"No." He smiled faintly. "It didn't hurt too much, it was about as painful as _this_!" His fingers rake deeply over Gevanni's chest, piercing through the skin due to the speed of the swipe.

"Ow! Dammit!" He shoved the male off of him. Touching his chest, there are specks of blood on his fingertips. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you're forcing yourself on me." Near states very matter-of-factly. "I thought we were in a relationship, but so far you've been treating me like some naughty butler in a Cosplay. I clean your house, I'm _told_ that we care about each other... but so far all I'm seeing is you saying 'Jump' and waiting for my 'How high'."

Near lurched back when the man moved towards him, pinning him between the arm of the chair and his body. He saw anger flashing through Gevanni's eyes, it was like a tornado was in there and his eyes were flicking as they spot every whirling violent idea to inflict upon him, when really he seemed to be searching Near's face. And then he did the strangest thing again, he closed his eyes then backed away.

"You're right. I didn't mean to... I'm deeply sorry, _please_ forgive me." He begged sincerely. "I... I'm frustrated.. not sexually, but, I miss you. The you I knew before this amnesia thing. You loved me, as I love you." He takes Near's hand, holding it tenderly.

"...I'm sorry that I don't remember our relationship, I'll try harder to- for both our sakes."

"No. That won't be necessary... I'll just... I'll start all over again, from scratch. I can take you out to eat, and to movies, I mean, we've never done it before but.. if it'll make things more comfortable and understable for you... I'll gladly do it."

Half convinced, Near cocks a brow, side-eyeing him. "And what about my lock down?"

"If you'll wear a disguise, and sunglasses... we can go out- _you_ can go out." He smiled at him. "Does that sound fair?"

"Leaving the house like a movie star sounds a lot better than the life of a shut-in."

"So then we have a deal?" He holds out his hand to be shaken.

"Deal." He shakes the man's hand.

Grinning, he pulls the teen to him for a, returned, hug. And he kissed him playfully on his temple.

_Hn. Moment ruined by the horny bastard having me suck him off._

8 8 8

It was a wonder no one came running, their cries of pain were loud enough. But as it is they do live in the city where any human noise is usually swallowed up by the sound of driving and horn honking cars, planes sonic booming through the sky, trains, and other humans shouting to one another about absolutely nothing.

"Goddamn, he's strong." Mello groaned out while holding his side to ease its pain.

He's just been beaten, Bad! And it was a nightmare of dance and fight all blended into one frightening array of pain. What the Hell kind of style is that?

"You're telling me." Matt replied. "Who's idea was it to jump him again?"

"Mine." He rests his forehead against his forearm.

Mock sobbing, though he's completely sure it will be more than sincere later on when he's trying to sleep on bruises, Matt exagerates his feelings by telling his lover. "I hate you."

L blinked at the sprawled out couple that looks like twin body models, waiting in a pose to be sculpted. Its pretty sad. Walking over to the blond aggressor, he crouches down, wrist resting on his knees.

"Mind telling me why you thugs are assaulting me?" His index finger touches just barely between his lips as he thinks out loud. "To rob me? To rape me? Hmmm. I think you might have a hard time doing either since I might have to yell out" And he throws his hands dramatically in the air and raises his voice as if he's trying to none-to-discretely call out for help. "My God, some thugs are trying to rape me! My wallet's gone! Stranger danger!"

Angered, Mello barks at him through a pained groan. "Who's on the ground here?! Ugh!" He sits up with some effort; Matt does the same.

"Hmm. Martial arts beats free-form Street fighting in a fight, imagine that." Straigtening, well, somewhat straightening since he's slightly hunched over to examine the two thugs; hands in his pockets just as casually as he's speaking to them. "Now, before I continue to defend myself, what is it that you want from me?"

"Answers."

"Interogation?"

He muttered something about that being 'different, but what can you do', before addressing his "assaulters" again. And he uses the term 'Assaulters' very loosely since the two didn't lay a hand on him beyond jumping him from behind before the brawl broke out.

"What do you want to know?"

"Near. You told us he was missing." Mello stands on aching legs.

"That's somewhat correct." The sweets-loving stranger replies.

"We've been looking for a while now, and so far we've got nothing." Cocking his head, he shrugs his hand out. "We started to think maybe you'd taken him, and were bragging about it that we didn't know."

"Valid assumption, but its incorrect." He holds up a finger. "I don't have Near." He holds up a finger. "I don't know where he is." He adds a third finger. "And I currently have a few men on the look out for him myself. Nothing's turned up so far which leads me to believe that, like most missing cases, he's currently inside of someone's home either dead and waiting to be disposed of, or alive and waiting to be rescued."

"How can you be so blasé about that?!" He meant the first thing.

"Because that's the knowledge of the general situation of the victim and the criminal mind. Both live in fear of something while in each others' company. They either crack and give in, or they give theirselves away by becoming secluded to hide their nerves. Eventually someone notices, and hopefully someone tells what they know." He turns to leave.

"We should be kicking doors down, then! What the Hell are you all waiting for?!"

"Lower your tone, young man, there's no need for shouting. We're in an alleyway after all. The sound is compacted."

"It just doesn't make any sense, though." He lowers his tone to a snarl. "If Near is in somebodies house, than why can't we kick the doors in and search?"

"Obviously, we need warrents. And without them the police are victims of their own justice system becoming antagonistic to civilians and then they'll be fined, momentarily suspended, which means less able bodies on the field, and-.."

Cutting him off he holds up his hand. "Alright, alright, I get it." Shoulders slumped in defeat, he asks. "But what can we do in the mean time? Wait?"

"Nnno. Didn't say that; besides, you've already taken matters into your own hands by looking at all. Most wait around for the cops, or they just walk about with flyers. So, good luck. If you need to be posted of the search progress then see the police station's officer Aizawa. He'll tell you what's going on." Turning around, he eyes the battered pair with thought. "If you insist on rudely breaking into homes, can I suggest a less threatening method?"

"We're listening."

Mello tried his best to stand his ground when the odd looking, wide-eyed, secret martial artist approached him right to the nose, but he leaned his head back a bit to avoid any unplanned touches. Slanting his teal gaze side-ways to Matt, who looked ready to bolt for help before stepping in personally, he swallows and waits for what's coming.

And very softly, very heartfelt, the man says. "I was chasing my cat, and I saw him dash into your home before I could catch up to him."

Mello cocked a brow wondering if the man were for real, or would he be beamed up once walking away from Matt and himself? "I don't understand."

"Can you please let me search your home, he gets skittish around strangers, and I don't want him to scratch you." Taking a step back, he asks. "Now, doesn't that sound better than bursting into someone's home and demanding a missing person, who may or may not be in the home at the time. But, in that frantic powerplay, you've just alerted them that you're on the lookout and they should be more careful or move all together."

"It does." Mello replied with elated conviction.

"Atta boy." He smiled.

And if you could believe it, that was more creepy to Mello than the lanky male being freakishly strong, and looking the corner-rocking, face-to-the-wall asylum way that he does.

"In the meantime, we're checking out the recent homes of rented rooms in order to find him or at least some sort of trail."

He's walking away when Mello calls out to him.

"Wait! Who the Hell are you?"

"Just call me L. And I'm little more than a concerned acquaintance to your friend Near."

Knees bent and arms straight up over his head, he criss cross waves to them like he's at a football game or something, and he called to them like a normal human being. "Good luck to you both!"

When he was out of sight, Matt approached his lover. "That was weird."

"But effective." He looked after the man's departure. "Come on, we're gonna need a leash."

Not hearing what the man had been muttering to Mello, Matt cocked a brow. "Wh- what?" But followed Mello's charge all the same.

_I'll never forget how weird the party was. It was more like a gathering of sickos showcasing their captive to one another. It must have been their first time with servitude though, because they were all standing around waiting for my command, or looking at me as if I were insane._

_Gevanni was especially worked up that night, and he kept hounding me about every little thing being perfect. But I'll never forget that Mikami's presence. It was all consuming, and starving for me... kind of like how Gevanni was until I'd forgotten him, then he sort of got comfortable with the knowledge that he wouldn't get caught and had somewhat calmed down. But Mikami liked what he saw and intended to take it._

"Did you remember to shower?" Gevanni asked.

Near is setting down the placement rug piece before the front door for guest to wipe their shoes on.

"Unless the method of showering has changed over the past month, yes, I've showered."

"I'm sorry." He grabs him by the shoulders, planting a kiss on his cheek and forehead. "I'm just really nervous, this is the first time anyone's going to see you."

"You make it sound like I've got tricks to perform." He accepts another nervous kiss on the lips, before he's dragged into a quick hug. "Its just serving dinner, which I'm comfortable doing and preparing." Rubbing the man's arm, he adds. "Just relax."

Smiling, Gevanni nods. "I will."

He's glad that they're getting along a lot better, now that their fighting is over. Near seemed to really like going out for dinners in his brunet wig and sunglasses or prescriptionless glasses. And when Near said he needed normal clothes, outside of his uniform, Gevanni gladly gave him the information from his credit card so he could order some things.

That was a pretty sweet night between them. Near resting between his legs, with the laptop perched on the teen's lap; and he would choose something from the trendy clothing store, and Gevanni would either approve it with a thumbs up or give a raspberry of disapproval. A bowl of popcorn sat beside them on the bed.

He couldn't help but smile as the teen treated each delivery like it were Christmas, and Gevanni got presents too when Near would dash upstairs after dinner, and put on the delivered goods. He looked so sexy in this wine colored sleeveless turtleneck, that he dragged him over to the couch and got a 69 going that very minute after Near asked: "How do I look?" It was a simple matter of lifting the male, dropping him on the couch, kissing his stomach then climbing on top of him.

Manipulating sex out of Near to make it seem as though they were both into it was becoming too easy, and eventually all those wants for dinner out, and movies, and bike rides in the park will turn into something a lot more enjoyable. Marathon sex, like the good old days- or at least his good old days.

The door bell rang causing the homeowner to jump out of his skin. "The first of the guest is here. Near, answer the door, I wanna look like a big shot."

Laughing at how absurd that sounded when you're talking about opening the door to friends, Near waited for Gevanni to be in place on the couch to look very much like a poor man's Hugh Hefner, without the babes, or the robe over his clothes, before opening the door.

"Welcome to the Gevanni home. May I take your coat?" He bows.

He feels kind of like an ass, but what can he do? He's getting paid for this, Gevanni said overtime too. He can do... well, he isn't sure what he wants to- or wanted to- do with the money anymore. If he ever had a goal with getting the job beyond getting off the streets, he's forgotten. He may as well shoot for an apartment, and just commute for his job. That sounds nice.

"Yes, thank you." A blond man walks in, tossing a knowing grin at his friend. "Stephen, you're looking a little too well." Rester says quietly when walking over to the couch after handing his coat to Near. He doesn't want the boy to hear him use the man's first name. "Someone should have you investigated if you can afford a butler on your salary."

"Oh shut up." He shakes his friend's hand.

When starting their little club for 'People who like to have people', they all agreed that they would either be on a first or lastname only term when they're speaking around each other's toys. It was protection. You never know what can happen, and they wouldn't want the escapee to ID them in full, better to have some sort of running chance when the cops come calling.

"He's looking well." He takes a seat on the couch beside the armchair where Gevanni is seated. "I trust there have been no further problems with his condition?"

"Not a one." He smiles. Always good to have a doctor in your pocket.

"Splendid. Whats for dinner?" He sniffs. "Smells like beef."

Near would have answered the man's loud enough question had he not been eyeing a young woman at the door. Her head is bowed, and the long blonde bangs hide her face considerably. Near believed the young woman to be the man's date, but when she spoke it was to him.

"How may I be of assistance to you?" She asked in a very young tone. But she seems older. Maybe early twenties.

"Oh... then you're his?" He wasn't really sure. Who brings their own servant to a dinner party. _'Hn. Gevanni probably thought I'd need help, so he got his rich friends to bring their help along as well to give me a hand.'_ He gestures for the kitchen. "Follow me, you can fix the salad. Do you know how to make ceaser dressing or for a Crab Louie from scratch?"

"I'd like to learn." She said in a small voice. But at least she's looking up.

_'She must be very professional if she can't even meet the eyes of another servant.'_ He explains her behavior to himself. "I'll tell you, and you can put the ingrediants together. Its simple."

He knew he should have done it ahead of time. Maybe he does need help, at least with serving since the young woman can't seem to cook- as far as blending dressing is considered cooking.

"Wait here," He says to her when the door bell rings. "I'll be right back."

"Its incredible. Simply incredible." Rester whispers. "You must be living the dream!"

Gevanni grinned cheekily at his accomplishment. He knew he'd bring home gold, the minute he laid eyes on the kid when he'd seen him on the streets.

"Halle," Rester says from across the room before standing for the very rough looking blonde woman. "I'm glad you're here. I brought Misa."

Something in the kitchen fell. Near was thankful that it sounded like silver and not glass. Clearly this one doesn't get it. So much for thinking she's a pro, she's probably just shy because she's a clutz. Gevanni would never be frustrated with performance, well, his work performance. He's still gently trying to persued entrance into him beyond that little power display two days ago.

Near, again, is followed into the kitchen by another servant. This one is female as well, with short black hair, and an elegant posture about her. Misa, as he's come to learn the clutz's name, smiled and waved as she seems to know her.

"I'm Kiyomi Takata." The other woman says politely and bows.

"Hello, Kiyomi. I'm Near." He replies. "Your accent is very thick, how long have you been in the country- if you don't mind my asking?"

The woman blinked as if he'd spoken alien to her. "I've been here for six years since Ms. Linder brought me home."

Nodding, and not suspecting a thing about their behavior, he turns to Misa. Though he knows her name he'd like a more formal introduction. "And you are?"

"Misa Amane. I wanted to be a model, but... well, you know how these things turn out."

Near wondered if he did know how these things turn out, though he hasn't got a clue as to what she's talking about. _'Must be life dreams.'_ He figures. "Miss Takata, will you please place the steaks in the oven? I have to get the door."

"Yes, of course." Locating the oven, she then reaches just past it for the oven-mitts. "He's a strange one." She says casually to Misa.

"Mm. He takes it all very seriously." Her brown gaze meets with her friend's. "He must have been with Mr. Gevanni so long that he thinks he likes it."

"Just like the other one. I guess men are easier to break than women."

"I can imagine, especially when its another man doing it to you." She looks through the kitchen to Near over at the door, and just out of the corner of her eye she can see Halle Linder. Shuddering, she returns her attention to the greenary on the island counter.

She's had enough of that Amazon's rough ways, and though she can't say no to her owner Rester, she can at least try to stay out of the woman's sexual eye. She likes threesomes and Rester, the bastard, likes to share. Misa would probably be on her back or hands and knees for anyone that wanted to give her a try, if it were up to him. She wouldn't be surprised if the kid were next. He probably isn't into girls, a face that cute. No way. But she feels bad for him, because out of all of them... Gevanni can be the worst. Because he pretends to be good and nice, and gives you ultimatums, when really, if you don't do as he says... he'll... She can still remember the screams of that boy when Gevanni dragged him off of her because he wanted to take it nice and slow.

They all wound up in these situations in some fucked up way. Promises. Bad situation at home. Vacationing with friends to a new district, just to get ripped away by some damned strong stranger, shipped along to a foreign country where you're forced to be a sex slave! Misa can only image what Near has been through, and how he came to be here.

"May I take your coat, sir?" He asks a man with long hair and a pair of glasses, that he readjusts in order to hide a very lecherous smile.

"You must be Near."

_'That voice!'_

He remembered those phantom fingers touching him in the bedroom and he cringed when the man's hand lingered against his, thankfully, covered forearm when being handed his coat. The male beside him does the same, although, it should be said that he'd mimed the action since he isn't wearing a coat. Mikami glared at his servant for trying to be cute, then gives him a prompt shove away from the door so another set of guest can come in.

"Welcome. Can I take your coats?"

"Of course. Thank you." The man smiled at him as if approving the color of a car. "This is Judy, she'll be helping you tonight. Please, make good use of her."

"I will." Near walks to the kitchen, gesturing to be followed.

The rich beefy scent is all over the place, and its just about time for the last 10 minutes of cook time before its pulled out to rest. The owners are in the living room, and the dolls are in the kitchen; all are chatting and chatting while making introductions to one another. Near felt kind of nice about this little get together. He wondered if he could hang out with these people whenever he gets bored? They're seeing him, so Gevanni can't really have a problem with it.

"What are you Near to?" Asks the very odd Beyond. "I'm Near to death, she's Near to losing it" He points to Misa. "And she's Near to shutting down," He points to Kiyomi. "And Judy is Nearly gone- sorry Judy but its the truth" Wagging a finger, he adds. "you're not fooling anyone."

Embarrassed, Judy brushes her shoulder length brown hair behind her ear and begins plating the Crab Louie salad. Everyone's been whispering about how her owner is going to replace her. But it can't be true. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here right now.

"I'm not _Near_ _anything_. My name is simply Near, its what Gevanni told me."

"Your boss named you?" Now he seemed interested.

"Sort of. 'Near' is what I called myself when I met him, and so he told me that my name is Near."

They all looked at him as though he were insane. So, he further explained.

"I have acute amnesia, I fell while taking out the trash and bumped my head along the way."

"Yikes." They murmur upon recalling the stairs on the way up to the house.

"No wonder you're so hardened." Misa says to herself.

A timer went off over the stove. Near leaves the bizzare conversation of names, and walks into the living room. "Dinner."

The guest all locate to the dining room, where their servant pulls out the chair for them. After they sit, the 'helpers' get to work with serving the dinner. The salad was received well; who doesn't like dungeness crab in the summer with a mix of hard boiled eggs, tomato, iceberg lettuce, asparagus dressed with a mayonaise base dressing with chili sauce, olives, and green onion. He constantly heard compliments aimed at him, though not meant for him to hear since they spoke quietly. He felt good hearing it, sort of. He wanted to look good for Gevanni's friends, and it seems that he is.

The next course came and it consists of sirloin steak with a smudge of chive butter, sweet potato mash, and full cap mushrooms on the side. The servants had time to talk while the guest chewed through the meal.

"Can I ask you guys something?" He's at the sink, washing the pans. "Are there rooms you aren't allowed to go in?"

"They tell us all kinds of things that we aren't supposed to do." Says Kiyomi, her arms are folded just below her breast. She looks very uncomfortable.

"I see." He replied. _'At least its normal. I'm starting to get paranoid over that basement.'_ He glances over his shoulder at the door. _'Its like something down there wants for me to see it. But that's ridiculous... there's nothing down there but boxes.'_ Changing the subject, he asks. "So, are you all homeless as well? Or did you apply for the job?"

The other dolls look each other over wondering what this kid was on. Does he seriously have no clue about them? Is he seriously just the butler- granted- he's young as Hell, and possibly breaking the child labor law. But one has to wonder. It would explain why they've been let out of the house anyway. They're either in the company of their own, or someone who doesn't have a clue. Lucky bastard.

"I wound up with Mikami, because I had nowhere to turn to... My Mother died in a train derailing when I was eleven. When we went to see her R.I.P a couple years later, my Dad got his head caved in by some punks on the street, all while I watched from behind a dumpster. I panicked and wound up chased onto a train by the men who did it. That's how I got here, in Chicago." Beyond paused a moment, then locked eyes with Near. "I stepped off the train and began screaming _yak tse mohlo statysya!_ I hate this life! I hate everything!"

They all imagined the little immigrant stepping off a train he'd never meant to get on, and finding himself in the strange new city... alone and hurting.

"I wandered, not sure what the Hell anyone was saying... then I came across Mikami."

His cherry wood gaze was piercing Near straight through his soul, but he couldn't look away. Its not grateful to have been found, Beyond's eyes, they're stark raving mad! But why? Doesn't Mikami provide him a place to stay, food to eat? Looking at him, all of them, they are unhealthly on the thin side. He recalled being thin himself when he woke up on the couch a while back. He's missing something. And he needs to know what that something is.

"I didn't understand his smiling face, but I understood food. I don't know how long I was on that train, but by the end of it I was ready to eat roaches if need be."

"Near, I was wondering if I could have some more wine." Mikami asks.

His voice remained at a normal tone, but with the way the 4 listeners jumped out of their skin you'd swear he'd shouted.

"I'll get it, Mr Mikami." Kiyomi says with a bow, before tottering off for the bottle of wine across the kitchen.

"Thank you." He says while the glass is being refilled. "Very sloppy that I had to come in here for it. You should all be inside the dining room waiting for instructions."

"Yes, Mr Mikami." The women say before removing themselves from the kitchen.

Near tried not to notice the near death grip the man has beneath Beyond's chin, while his index finger gently strokes the male's jaw. "Telling stories again Beyond?"

"Yes. Just stories." He looks up at the man- as if he had a choice, with the way Mikami is holding his head back.

"Right. Go in the dining room."

"Yes." He scampers away.

Uncomfortable, Near slowly plates the dessert; a fluffy choux à la crème with chocolate and vanilla swirled cream. He's hoping his busy posture will make the handsy male leave, but he got no such luck.

He actually voiced his hitting the counter, Mikami had pressed into him from behind with a sudden rush. Near can feel his package pressing tellingly against his lower back. He coached himself to remain calm, to ignore it, turn then leave. But again, luck seemed to be standing aside because Mikami upped the anty.

His hand glides down from Near's shoulder along his extended arm where it rest comfortably on his hand. The size was obvious as he laced their fingers together over and over; swaying from side to side.

"You know, your looks are quite..." He searched for the right wording while running Near's fingers tips through one of the pastry's creamy filling. "exotic. I've never seen anyone like you before." He leans over him to smell his hair. "You'd look so much better working under me. You'd be happier too, paid well. Name your price."

"I'm just fine working for Gevanni." And he couldn't stand the way Mikami had started that sentence.

Near tries jerking his hand away, but its elevated up and over so that Mikami can lick away the cream, and he was sure to exagerantly suck the tip of the teen's slender finger before lowering the hand.

"Its delicious, just like the rest of the meal."

And why did it sound like 'Its delicious, just like _you_' to Near?

Moving the abducted hand to the teen's lips, he says seductively. "Here. Try some."

Near popped the back of his head against Mikami's firm chest while trying to avoid being touched with his iced, and sullied fingers. He moves his head from left to right but only wound up getting a mess smeared on his face.

"Does Gevanni know you're doing this?" He struggles to be unpinned.

"We share services all the time."

"Not this time, Teru." Came his bosses voice, though, with the tone used the man was clearly speaking as the teen's lover this time.

Near fled to the other side of the kitchen. He can still feel the man's slithering touch.

"I was only offering employment under me, he can still be your boyfriend." Mikami smiled slyly.

"Not gonna happen, Teru. Now go back into the dining room and behave... the night is almost over, don't spoil it."

"Whatever." He says playfully, but to Near he smiles. "Just think about my offer."

"Near stays with me, I found him first." He slips an arm around his friend's shoulder to steer him from the kitchen, and over his shoulder he cast his lover an apologetic look.

Settling his nerves, Near continues plating the pastries with shaking hands. The sooner they have dessert, the sooner they leave.

_That shook me in two ways. One being that they spoke about me like I were a piece of furniture, ready to be U-Hauled to the wealthiest destination and that angered me, sickened me, and made me weary of both of them... but, the other thing that shook me is that Gevanni stuck by my side while everyone talked over coffee. ...He was protective and, after being groped by that dirty old pervert, having Gevanni care like that made me feel like I was ready to be with him. And that night, I gave myself to him completely._

...

Trans: _yak tse mohlo statysya! _How could this happen! In my head, Beyond would be from Ukraine because he speaks in a choppy haulting way, at least to me. ^_^

**Psyche-Socks** are you telling me you used to be a young homeless? I'm sorry to hear that. I'm an almost shipped off to a home myself. My Ma was sick, my Dad was in the navy and my granny hated me for being the child of her hated child. She said "If you don't get out of the hospital after tonight, I'm putting the kid up for adoption. So, I'm sorry for your pain.

Thank you for the lengthy review always, seriously, it means a lot to know what I'm doing right and wrong. So don't thinking of it as spam, think of it as someone who likes to read and forms an opinion about it. I'm the same way, I never leave quickie reviews, that to me is spam, but I go on and on and its a good thing when others do it too. So, no worries. ^_^

I'm not in it for all the 'Wows' though ahaha, its nice don't get me wrong but if its just you then I'm happy. But I took your advice and changed it to MxN pairing, even if its all over the place with the pairings.


	6. Right Where It Counts

Near couldn't believe it! He just couldn't believe that he- after all the advances the man has made towards him- was rejected for penatration sex. He didn't even get around to asking, the door to the man's office was just closed in his face.

He must have gotten a sudden lead in a case. He hopes that he's gotten some ground with whomever is after him from the streets. That way he can collect his checks and hit the road, after that Mikami just flexed his muscle that he's going to be making moves on him, he's kind of nervous to be living here. What if he comes by one day and Gevanni's not here?! How good of friends are they? Does Mikami have his own key? It made him sick thinking about it, but recalling Gevanni's protectiveness, it also made him horny again.

So here he is, naked at the bottom but dressed on top, prepared to spend the early part of the night jerking himself off with _thoughts_ of Gevanni instead of _actual_ Gevanni.

He is tugging, jerking, stroking, and fingering himself with images of his protector being the one who's driving him over the edge in the darkness of the large bedroom; Gevanni's mouth over his member instead of his hand, the tip of his tongue brushing by his weeping slit instead of his other hand's fingertips; breaths hitched, and whimpers aplenty mixed with pants and groans, he imagines that Stephen Gevanni's the one pounding his slickness into his body, instead of his natural-fluids lubed middle and index fingers.

Moaning, he rolls over onto his stomach, almost like he were a pancake being flipped roughly over; Gevanni's touches always tend to boarder on the rough stuff, he often wondered that if they had sex together would the man be a spanker. He wasn't sure if he could get into that. But at the moment, as hot as he is for him, Near's hips almost slam down and out of his imaginary lover's grip, while his body worked itself forward and back over his fingers in time with his thrusts, until he shoots out over the bedding in a hard spray.

He wished he hadn't been in the center of the bed, because he was going to have to change the sheets, or at least get something to clean them up. Waiting for his breaths to calm down, he lays on his side, body exposed to the blue in the room when the passing rain clouds began drifting away along with their lie of what tonight's weather would be like. Stormy. It didn't even drizzle.

But, something about this light playing scenario seemed to whisper in the back of his mind.

_'A blue room, half of it black from shadows casting over regular items making them dark and gloomy. Even a monster is no match for the eating color of black covering objects in the room.'_

Near cocks his head looking at the darkness. Its at the foot of the bed, more dangerous than any monster, at least, that's the feeling it gave off. A monster would rip him to bits, would maul out chunks of him, then leave his bones to rot away... but the darkness would consume him... to the Nothing.

_'I wish Gevanni would come up here... I don't wanna be a Near Nothing.' _He thinks recalling his conversation at the dinner party.

Tugging the blanket over his bare nether region, he turns over in the large, soft, bed to look out of the open door; Gevanni passes by.

Mood suddenly brightened, he climbs out of bed and hurries after him, his night shirt is long enough to drape him like a nightgown, bouncing down to cover him all the way to the knee as he quickly moves into the hall; Gevanni must not have heard him because he closed the door nearly in his face, again. Not about to be stopped in his conquest, he knocks twice.

"Gevanni?"

The lock turning over told tales of his being busy at the moment, so Near; with cover of his over-sized nightshirt, retired to bed... alone.

_'Maybe he'll be less busy tomorrow.' _Entering his bedroom, he closes the door, then climbs back into bed and remains completely oblivious to what's really going on in the man's head.

And it took a moment to get there, but eventually, he fell into a deep sleep in which he dreamed. He dreamed of his desires and needs being met, of being petted and tugged this way and that on every part of his body while the man guided him over the edge. But the weight was different, somehow... less pinning like a wrestler hold and more melding, even the feeling inside of him, and the smell. Sweet, kind of chocolatey; the hands on his hips were a gentle hold rather than a grip- like Gevanni had that time he'd fucked him between clenched thighs. And it felt- dream-senses'-wise- that soft longish hair was brushing his bare shoulder, right before a rich tasting kiss fell upon his lips.

He and this dream man rocked together like a well oiled machine, in unison, in harmony, and the blissful feeling in his stomach grew warmer in his played upon member, in a way that it felt like he were being soaped up during a bath. He wanted to whisper a name, the man's name, but all that came out were soft "Mmm"s and breathed "Eeehh"s. He dreamt with a smile on his face.

The next day.

_I suppose I'll have to tell you about my statutory rape, as well. Gevanni's sticking up for me sort of awakened a desire for him, and I don't know, I guess I sort of wanted to show him how much I appreciated his being there for me._

_But like I'd said, statutory rape._

_I would have gladly given myself to him that night, if he hadn't spent it in his office festering over the night's events in a much different way than I had. I didn't know it until the next day, when I'd seduced him to bed with me, that Gevanni was angry about what had happened, and the fool chose to direct it at me._

_...It was like that man from my first wallet job. ...I was scared._

_But being with Gevanni wasn't until the evening, beforehand came the suspicious winds, and shreds of debri before the storm._

To anyone walking in on the seated male, they'd believe that he was nauseous for some reason. In a sense, its true. He is a bit queasy, but not because of something he's eaten, its more over something that he wanted to do.

While cleaning, he came across the bosses index book. And taking a little curiosity break, the butler thumbed through the card roller while taking in the numbers and addresses of all of the man's friends, and other contacts. Boy there are a lot in red, and only a few in green ink. He wondered what that meant for a little while, until he found the names of everyone from the party. Seeing those names he recalled being told that he could invite them over. Which is where he is right now... feeling nauseous now that one is coming over.

And that's only because he had to call Teru Mikami's home, and ask his butler, Beyond, if he'd like to come over and swim with him for a while. Mikami didn't have to know about it. He planned to have all the other "help" over, but when he called he got no answer.

_If I had known what was going on at those homes... I would have kept the phones ringing until someone answered. Misa Amane died that afternoon from her body just giving out during a third guy trying to fit into her from the back, when two were already moving in and out of her from the front. Rester got to see what he erotisized about with his little love-doll... and because of that desired video, he lost her._

_Because of my efficiancy during the dinner service, and my tasty meals, Kiyomi Takada got her arm broken. Her only job before was basically to be used for sex, so when she dropped a plate in clumsy attempt to walk a tray of dishes around the kitchen, Halle lost it. And Judy was sold to the trafficking rings! It seemed my appearance in their sick little world caused a very displeased riff with them and their toys, and they beat or killed them trying to mold them above the average I've made them seem._

_I'm just glad that Beyond was able to answer. At least... I was._

The strange butler with the cherry-brown eyes had answered after the second ring, with his usual odd way of speaking. It was sort of like he thought he was a ghost, or maybe he was trying to be a singer and is speaking through practice 'run' sessions.

"Hellooooo."

To Near, the greeting sounded like an old door creaking open. Most of what the male says does. Probably had bad strep throat, and never got over the stress to his vocal chords.

"Its Near... I wanted to know if you wanna come over for a swim? I'll make you lunch."

He threw in as a bonus, since all the "help" seemed to starve for his food when they were eating at the party. You'd think they never ate at their homes!

"Uuuummm..."

"He'd be glad to come." Mikami answered. "I'll bring him by, we can all have a nice time."

Near's blood ran cold. What the Hell is Mikami doing there?! Shouldn't he be at work or something? Near almost dropped the phone onto the floor, he's shaking so badly. Why does he have to come over!? He asked Beyond, not Mikami. Beyond. Maybe he can cancel?

"If you're too busy, we can cancel until Gevanni is here... you don't wanna spend time with the Help."

"Non-sense.. what do you think I'm doing right now? Just spending some time with Beyond here, on my day off."

Near can hear a sort of thwap in the background... maybe like someone were closing a tupperware or popped a single bubble on a row of bubble wrap.

"We'll be right over." He hung up.

And Near's been sick ever since... waiting.

_My real name is actually __Na Rasstoyanii Den'rozhdeniya_, _but since my owner had to sneeze to say it, I just told him the loose translation, so yes, that's my real name. And I've been with Teru Mikami for some time... The reason Near called- no.. nooo, the fact that he called at all amazed me, I thought the boy had a couple screws loosened up there from one too many beatings. But he was sincere... at the time I was getting some nasty bruises from Mikami because suddenly I wasn't good enough._

_I'd gone out of my hole to stretch my legs... or maybe I was looking for something to eat? I'm not sure, but I walked into him exiting the shower we'd just been in- oh right! I was never downstairs, he was off work and he'd gone out and bought a white wig for me. Two guesses why. Then he cork-screwed me against the shower wall, telling me to love him more than Gevanni._

_He'd pulled too hard on the wig and it came off, suddenly I was Little Fucker again. So Little Fucker was kicked out of the bathroom, and answered the phone. Mikami was smacking me with annoyance for answering the phone, until he heard who was on the other end. When he hung up it was, "Help me convince him into a threesome, Little Fucker."_

_Ooooo, how I HATE that name... Little Fucker while he beats me... Little Fucker while he fucks me... littlefuckerlittlefuckerlittlefucker! No! Don't stick me with that... I hate drugs, I'll behave..._

Near yelped when he looked through the peephole in the large front door of Gevanni's home; his peep was greeted with a blown-up cherry-wood eyeball, pressed to it like he was trying to see in from a reverse that isn't there. Returning his eye to the hole, he sees Beyond in full standing on the front entrance looking around the area. Where is Mikami?

_'Maybe he just dropped him off?'_ He more hoped than wondered.

"Are you home?" Beyond knocks on the door then pressed the bell.

It was so loud that Near momentarily looked around in wonder of where the box was, then he returned his attention to the door. "I've changed my mind abo-"

The lock flips over then the knob turns; Near barely stepped back before the door shoved open.

"I said I've changed my mind!" He snaps at Mikami while backing swiftly away.

Despite not having verbal permission, he enters the home since the spare key that unlocked the door said otherwise. The older man was almost bragging about it with the way he let the silver Entry Pass stand up as proud as an erection between his fingertips, while the car key, house key, and other random keys dangle from the keyring in his hand.

"Don't be like that, Near." Mikami said calmly. "Beyond can't drive, and I wasn't doing anything on my day off... so I thought I'd bring him over for you. I don't mind that you hang out together."

"Gevanni isn't here."

"You didn't mind being alone with Beyond."

_'Beyond isn't trying to get into my pants.'_ He glares.

"I promise. No tricks." He holds up a boy scouts hand. "I'll grill while you two swim. No harm in that."

Near looked from the pedophile to his possible new friend. What harm could it do? Beyond is here if the man tries anything, and he'll call the cops if he gets even slightly grabby-handsy with him. Defeated to the issue, he nods.

"Wonderful." A smile spread across his face.

He was already starting by putting his hand on Near's back, right between his shoulders to steer him along farther into the house, Beyond as well. He acted as though he owned the place, when he's just the guest, and barely even that.

Pretending Mikami isn't even in the room, Near asks. "Do you have a suit Beyond?"

"I don't." He's looking from left to right, like he intends to mentally blueprint it to mind for a robbery.

Cocking his head left to right to measure his guest from front to back with his eyes, Near comments. "You can borrow one of mine, it should fit."

"Swappin' genes in the old swimming pool." He joked, very casually to Near's ears.

But Mikami only heard "I'll try to get him in the mood". He knew Gevanni kept a little something around the house for when certain people don't want to co-opperate to gentle persuation. He'd simply drop it in their drink, and the rest of the evening just played itself out.

"You boys go put on your trunks, I'll get the things together for the grill."

Near couldn't help but wonder just how well the man knows Gevanni's home, and on top of that _why_ does he know the home so well? Friendship is a close bond, but not enough to zero in on any given item in the house- even the bedrooms- if the owner asked for it for you to find. He also felt sickened by the Fatherly tone the man got with them over putting on their swim trunks.

_'I'm probably reading too much into it. Its a kitchen, how many places can food and things hide?' _Thinks Near. _'And as far as that tone, the fucker's just sick. He'd probably rape his kids if he had any.'_ Starting up the stairs, Beyond in tow, he cast a side-long glance at the vanishing Mikami.

He had no idea of how many times they've been in and out each other's homes within their circle of "Close Friends". Each has a key so they can come and go as they pleased with each other's dolls. That is, if they happen to want to share that doll. Mikami is actually surprised Gevanni hadn't changed the locks on his doors, since he's so protective of Near.

As Beyond so casually teased about it, that "genepool" alone could tell tales of what he'd done to a few of his own combined with one of Gevanni's. Halle's never been one for the boys, but it didn't stop her from watching the show.

The two turned off in the hall and tottered upstairs, while Mikami busied himself in the kitchen; whistling that tune from the _**Lion King**_movie that that blackmane lion, Scar, sang. _Be Prepared_. Only, if you knew Mikami, you'd know the lyrics are a bit different from the actual version. His is something along the lines of Near not knowing what's tip-toeing nearer, in a simple glass of wine. All kids wanna try liqour, right? And it wasn't hard to find them either, Gevanni keeps them in an empty _**Advil**_ bottle; he only has to say he has a headache and he can shake one out and drop it into a drink without the drugged being the wiser, believing that he's only taking care of an ache, that something's been slipped into their drink

Pouring the 'leg spreader' into a bottle of red wine, he then busies himself with gathering things to cook and he stacks an onion, green pepper, _**Ritz**_ crackers- for breading- and a well concocted bowl of ground beef. Grabbing two shakers, he seasons the uncooked meat, then grabs a sandwich bag to make a little _extra_ seasoning. Popping a pill to a fine dust, he sprinkles it into the meat. Incase Near refuses to drink, he can have some in his food- it might work the same way.

He cast his lense-covered gaze up to the ceiling when hearing footsteps. He imagined something just unbelievably sexy going on up there, something that he could walk in on and join in. Near would be showing his doll the clothes. His doll, being a sessioned pro at being naked, would just strip down and offer himself with force to the boy. Mikami wet his mouth just thinking about it. Damn Gevanni for not sharing! Although, he had yet to share his little fucker. He can't be blamed, until the white haired beauty came along Beyond was reigning champion... but now that he's no longer on the throne, Mikami is very bored with him. Maybe he could sell him and find better? In the meantime he can work on his friend to share Near until he does. But, if things go off as he plans, he'll never have to tell his longest friend that he took a bite before it was offered.

You'd sit on a couch before buying it. Test drive a car. Walk through a house. God! He knows exactly the right speed, and the certain angles he'll put the lad in. He's fantasized about it since Gevanni showed him to him when he was laying in bed, and he knew that Near would live up to the fantasies. He may not contort like Beyond, but he must have some sort of flexibility, he's young!

Ingrediants secured, he lifts the tray and carries it outside to the grill.

Near pulled out a red pair of swim trunks, that have a printed pattern of army fatigue and he tosses them to Beyond, who's standing beside him a ways by the bed full-blown naked. He's looking around the room, just as he had looked around on the way up.

"You sleep here?"

"When I'm not sleeping with Gevanni, yes."

He tries to keep his eyes from the male's comfortable nudity, but he can't help looking at the large purple welts, red ones, and a couple ashy looking patches... like maybe old burnt skin. And his junk looked... sort of off. Near had been looking at his own when he'd taken that long bath, and he thought that his looked a little _off_ as well- even the coloring. He's not an expert, nor has he seen every penis in the book, but he's pretty sure it shouldn't look so... used.

Figuring if his guest is going to be comfortable, he may as well relax too. Easing the tension from his muscles, he slips out of his uniform and into his swim trunks while keeping his back to Beyond. He turned, expecting the male to be dressed, but instead he sees him laid out on his bed. He looks asleep.

"Are you asleep?"

"No."

"Are you all right?" He moves over to the bed, taking a seat beside Beyond's head.

"A version of it."

Near studied the male, since his creepy eyes are closed and he has no chance of looking at him. He looks older upclose. "How old are you?"

"Twenty two."

"I'm sixteen."

Beyond smiled making himself look younger. His words from the dinner party ran through his head, about how he'd ended up with Mikami.

_'A guy like that...'_ Near thinks. Taking his friend's hand, he gives it a squeeze. "Beyond... you can tell me the truth, has Mikami ever done anything to you... _sexually_." It sure looks like he beats him, he knows that much.

Beyond's smile turned into a grin exposing his knicked and colored teeth. His hand crawls up Near's arm, landing snuggly on the back of his head before pulling him down to him where, with a simple turn of his head, he kisses him tenderly on the lips. He licked his lips after pulling Near away from him by latching onto a handful of hair.

"So that's what care taste like." He opens his eyes. "Thank you, Near." Sitting up, he leans over the front of the bed to grab the disguarded swim shorts. "I smell food; let's swim." Shooting both legs through the holes in the shorts, he jerks them up while exiting the bedroom.

"I'm gonna talk to Gevanni... they're friends, he'll know what to do."

7 7 7

Swimming was really enjoyable! He thought for sure he'd be ignoring sexual harrassment for the better part of the day, but Mikami had kept his word and didn't bother the two of them at all, he was either at the grill or inside doing who knows what. Probably smelling his boxers, the butler figured with a displeased sneer in the house's direction.

Near snickered at his friend who looked as though he were having sex with the water, bobbing up and down in one spot when really he's just bouncing from the bottom to the top. They'd been wrestling each other, and having wave-making contest, holding onto the rim of the inground and just kicking their feet as hard as they could for splashing sake. It was like being real kids.

Sighing, Near climbed out of the pool to sit on the edge and let his legs dangle in. Man, is he tired... or is it that he's peaceful? What does peaceful feel like? Good he imagined, because right now he's feeling really really good. Its like he's invisible, or his nervous system is asleep.

"You look tired." Beyond says when swimming up to him. His gaze moves past Near to Mikami, who's standing in the doorway watching the two. "Come on, you can lay down on the lawn couch."

Getting out of the pool, he grabs Near up from beneath his arm and steers the giggling mess over to a long patio couch. Sitting first, he pulls the goofy teen down over top of him while he lays back agains the orange and what striped cushion. It didn't take long for Near to start peppering him with kisses, because in his mind, he assumed that's what they were laying down for.

Beyond hummed at the pleasent rush that ran through him when Near grinded down into his lap, their soggy bodies move together well with squelchy wet sounds voicing their languid pace. Breathing picked up, the doll parts his legs wide to allow Near to rest between them, one on the ground while the other is hooked over the back of the wicker chair. How many of those pills did Mikami use, because Beyond's feeling pretty silly himself.

The two are making-out like their the last survivors on the planet, tongue and teeth gnashing and brushing together; and from a peeked open eye, the doll spots his owner looming over them. He holds Near's hips up by lifting him with his hands against his torso, and in one quick tug Mikami pulls off the wet swim trunks.

Near looked confused for a moment, then whimpers a protest against Beyond's throat, before the male distracts him with a heated kiss. And Near couldn't help himself, he pushed back when he felt Beyond parting his cheeks, and Mikami's thumb pressing against him. He even heard himself whisper "Come on" right before the man shoved in, and crushed him closer into Beyond.

Near moaned, and rocked stiffly into Beyond on his own, but thanks to Mikami's frantic thrust he's beaten into the male beneath him, who's probably feeling pretty crushed right now. Mikami had undressed and lubed up on the way over, so it was smooth sailing into a rough path and the difference in slickness was to die for as he huffed and panted in and out of the kid. God, he wanted to make it last, and pulling out, he reached between them and jerked Beyond's soaked shorts away, two rears at his disposal he bound into Beyond, and stuffed his fingers into Near pumping in time with his thrust.

Beyond bucked his hips into his owner and writhing beneath Near, who's crying softly against him. He's dully aware of what's going on, while unable to do a thing about it. He actually said "stop it" into Beyond's chest when Mikami traded his fingers for his whole again. But Mikami was not about to stop, and Beyond just as under-the-influence as Near couldn't do much crushed beneath the two. And at some point even Near was moaning for more.

The three groaned and moved like a knot of snakes trying to pull free as a very alert man picked and choosed which hole he wanted in on until he mercilessly pounded into Near's rear, milking his finish until there was no more.

By the time Gevanni got home, the two had gone, leaving the teen with nothing but wonder as he slept where he was left.

...

Near woke up just as confused, groggy, and horny as he'd gone down. Why is he outside? He wondered as he looked around his surroundings. Spotting the abandoned swim trunks of his and Beyond's, he cocked his head trying to make sense of it. Were they skinny dipping? That's weird of him to do. But how else can it be explained? He wouldn't just strip for the Hell of it. He knew that guy was weird, he had to have talked him into it.

Rubbing his head, he turns his shaking legs and attempts to stand. Groaning at the pain shooting through his butt, he then tries to explain _that_ away while staggering away from the lawn chair. _'Gevanni could have come home and we... No, that's really stupid... God, why can't I think?'_ Embarrassed, he grabs his shorts and tugs the damp thing back on. Lifting Beyond's trunks from the grass, he walks it into the house with them to be washed.

In the tiny laundry room, Near tosses the suit into the washing machine. He then removes his own suit, dropping it into the washer as well. He wondered what other things there were to wash since two little swim trunks wasn't enough to waste water over so, nude, he exits the laundry room and starts for the stairs.

Once again, confusion washes over him when he spots his boss's pants on the stairs; picking them up, he continues up the stairs seeing another artical of his clothing. Lifting the shirt into the strip-tease pile, he moves down the hall toward his bedroom, but when passing Gevanni's room he peeks into the open entrance.

Gevanni's in there, erection in hand just pumping away at himself while he lay perfectly naked on his big soft bed. A wave of heat washed over the naked vouyer seeing this, and his hand just grabbed his brain and latched onto himself to stroke in time with his boss. That's right!

_'I left Gevanni little notes to strip for me, and I was gonna surprise him by laying on the bed, ready for some housekeeping foreplay, before I let him fuck me.'_ Nodding, Near puts his assumed version of why he was outside together in his head. _'I must have been swimming, got tired and cold, took a nap in the sun when Beyond left, and Gevanni came home but couldn't find me so he got started without me.'_

Dashing downstairs, he grabs the feather duster from the wrack on the laundry room door and an unused cleaning rag then darts back up the stairs. Near was careful to open the door without a sound, and to walk over to the large occuppied bed just the same.

He watched with a smile over the man's hand tugging and smoothing at the base of his sex, humming his pleasure. Near dusted the feathery end of the duster up the bare portion of his boss's shaft, enjoying the arching of the man's back and the heated gasp before Gevanni opened his eyes.

"Near?" He looks at him.

"You're so dirty master," He says casually. "I thought maybe I'd clean you up before dinner."

The duster slithered over the top of the man's member in a spidery circle; Gevanni closed his eyes taking in the feeling.

Near's not even sure of how to seduce someone, but he's gonna do the best he can. Bobbing the duster up and down over it, so that the feathers are impaled by his thrust; Gevanni caught his breath everytime the opening in the handle that houses the feathers allowed a bit of the head to be stuffed into it.

"What are you doing?" Gevanni breathed.

"Seducing you." He smiled at the man's chuckle. "Is it working?"

"It'd be working better if I had you to stuff myself into." He opens his eyes and looks at him.

"Does that mean you wanna give me a raise?"

The two of them laughed.

"You are adorable... but really terrible at this, have you been watching porn or something?" He pulls him down onto him, parting his legs and clamping the male inbetween them. Answering Near's question, he replies in half a kid. "The question is, do you deserve one?"

Missing the slight edge to Gevanni's tone, Near smiles. "I think so. Maybe if you let me wash you, I can earn it."

He plants kisses on the man's chest, taking time to swirl his tongue around the rising nipple. He sways into Gevanni's fingers that are brushing their ways up and down his back, and inbetween his cheeks. Something about that went from feeling fantastic to creeping a knot into his stomach. Its probably nothing. His boss already had the lubricant out and resting beside the pillows, so Near grabbed it up, uncapped it, and squeezed a glob into the unused wash rag.

It's smoothed over the man's torso, leaving a sticky sweet circle that Near's tongue carefully traces around. Laying his short height against Gevanni's taller difference, he rolls them sideways and grinds into him. Washing the gelled up rag along the man's side, hip, and buttocks, he gives it a playful squeeze. He wasn't the only one offering rear-end massages, and Gevanni's fingertips brush against his entrance and pressed firmly against it. The stickiness inside was obvious to him, and that just brought back his anger from last night. But he figures, he'll allow Near to explain, see if he'll lie about it.

Meeting the younger male's kisses eagerly to keep him off guard of what he knows, he asks between breaths. "Near?"

"Mhm."

"What did you do today?" He begins kissing the boy's neck and chest so that he can answer without distraction; his hand smooths over the teen's jaw and shoulder.

"I went for a swim." He arches into the man's firming grip.

"Alone?"

"Of course alone." He said at first, but then remembered. "Oh no, I mean, I called Beyond to come over. It was the two of us."

Gevanni was sure that Beyond had come over, but there was one thing that just didn't fit with the picture because Beyond should have no means of getting to his home, nor should he have been able to even answer the phone to be asked over.

"How did he get here?" His grip in Near's hair causes the boy to whimper. "Near... how did Beyond get here?" He asked this a little more slowly.

Wetting his mouth nervously, he replies. "Mikami drove him."

He knew Gevanni would be upset, and possibly hurt his friend. And though he'd love to see the man get what's coming to him, he doesn't want to have Gevanni believing that he can't handle himself. Not to mention, if he beat him up, Gevanni might end up in jail from Mikami pressing charges. He couldn't have that, not when he's come to realize that he cares for him.

"And did he stay over?"

By now all movement had stopped, and the air became very still. Near most of all is confused by his boss's anger. Its as though Gevanni is angry at him. But why?

"Gevanni... Stephen," He tried to get to him with a more direct approach. This is not how his afternoon of seduction was supposed to go. "Nothing happened."

It sounded like a throat had been slit, Gevanni grabbed a hold of the teen's neck so quickly that all he could do was make a strangled sound. "Nothing happened? You say nothing happened!?" He hollered at him.

Rolling and getting up onto his knees so that Near lay pinned beneath him; and when Near tried sitting up he was back-handed back down onto the pillow, he grabs the male by the jaw hard enough to leave divits.

"You'll spread those lily white thighs for anybody other than me, huh! You little whore!"

And to Near's horror he's punched in the face.

"What are you..." He gags on his squeezed throat. "talking about?"

"What do you think I'm talking about?!" He stuffs his fingers into Near's entrance, not easily with him wriggling around frantically within his grasp. "You're wet! And unless you were fooling around in some weird way to have it happen, it can only mean you had sex!" He shoves the sullied fingers into the boy's face.

"No, I didn't!" He shouts back turning his head this way and that to avoid being poked painfully up the nose, or in the eye.

Struggling, he tries for the man's face with nails poised to scratch, but Gevanni grabbed him by the hand. His knee moves up to rest on the teen's other wrist, while he's pulling a pillowcase free from the pillow beneath the boy's head.

"Don't!" Near called before being smacked once again.

Gevanni ties the male's wrists together with the pillowcase, and once tied... they're stuffed underneath the space between the bedframe and the mattress, where the wood scrapes against the bare part of his arm.

"I swear, nothing happened." Near tried saying more calmly to relax the man's rage. "He stayed in the house, he cooked for us, but he never touched me- and neither did Beyond."

"Shut up." Gevanni hissed; grabbing Near up by the thighs.

He positions himself then shoves roughly into the sticky almost dried out tunnel, and begins to move rapidly in and out. Near arched his hips from the bed and shook himself, legs flailing and hips wriggling back and forth to remove the man; kicking him in the gut and on the chest so rapidly that the moment caused Gevanni's sex to slip from his body; Near then tried to get off the bed, but is instead rolled over onto his stomach.

_Hn. People think spanking is so erotic, and sexy... you wouldn't find it so hot if you were a minor being battered by an older, stronger man. It was a wonder I could move at all once he started digging his fingers into my skin, and his hands alternated striking me on the butt. If even He was being hurt by the act, you can imagine my pain._

Near lay there, tears in his eyes and pain anywhere he could and shouldn't be pained. Both of them are out of breath from hollering at one another, one accusing, one defending. Eventually, there was nothing left to do but let it play out until it was over. But Gevanni's anger, and his words, and actions all played through Near's thoughts while he grit-and-beared it.

Something happened outside, something wrong. He'd been... He felt vomit roiling in his throat. He had to get it out! Before Gevanni could think, muchless react, Near shot from the bed and ran into the bathroom. Gevanni chased after him, but the bedroom door was slammed in his face, giving Near enough time to make it into the bathroom and slam that door as well.

Emptying his stomach into the toilet, he yelped from fright when Gevanni burst into the bathroom and grabbed him; the exiting spray of laced cheese burger got all over the seat of the toilet and a little on the floor.

"No! No!"

Near ran again, and slammed the bedroom door. With haste, he shoved the dresser against it, slipping two times to the floor, but he was able to barracade the door to keep the madman out. Near sobbed momentarily, if only for that one second, then he called through the door to the person he knew was there... waiting. He sniffled bringing snot and blood back into his nose, and he ran his hand across his face.

"Gevanni please listen to me..."

And his voice was so pityful, that Gevanni stopped shouldering the door to listen.

"I'm not lying to you... Mikami came over because his butler needed a ride, but Beyond and me were the only ones in the pool." His breathing is heavy but quick, as he tries to calm himself down. "I got really tired one minute, but... I think he did something to the bottled water, or the food. Its all so blury."

Its quiet for a long moment. Near fighting back images of what happened outside- he was raped! Possibly by both of them, or both of them drugged and raped by Mikami. God, how could he not have thought that that man would do something to the food!? He rest his back against the dresser, and remained quiet in wonder if Gevanni can believe him. The broken teen had no idea that his captor had gone downstairs and counted the contents in his pill bottle, before returning upstairs with a kindness that one would show someone they truly cared for.

Near just assumed that it had all sank in, and Gevanni believed him because when he returned upstairs and spoke Near's name in a tone so soft and sweet, the teen couldn't have opened the door fast enough to take the embrace given to him. He needed comfort after the day he's had.

"I'm... Near, I'm sorry." He rocks him back and forth in their seated position. "I'm so sorry."

The two sat there rocking, and calming down. Near didn't even care about sleeping on the floor while he used Gevanni as a pillow, he just knows that when he woke up to being carried over to his bed.. the man made love to him. Kindly, gently. He sat on his lap, and he rode him with hands locked together, passionate eye contact, and tender kisses shared.

_I was starting to lose it with the directly in-direct approach. We must have kindly assaulted our ways into six houses, and Near wasn't in any of them! Not all of them had basements, or attics, all perfect for hiding someone from immediate eyesight; some of them were even flats! But ideal predator home or not, we still came up empty. We were beginning to give up that he was nestled away in someone's home, and were ready to try the rings out. But we had one more home to try out..._

Matt knocked on the door, and the two stood and waited.

"This is a really nice house." Matt says off-handedly.

Mello smacked him with the back of his hand, this was no time to take in the scenery. "Ring again." He orders, but the door pulled open before Matt could comply.

"Yeah? What is it?" The man asked with a tone full of annoyance.

"Whoa!" The two bellowed in unison.

This guy seriously got the shit beat out of him! His eye is swollen, his lip is healing from being busted, and there's purpling on his barely exposed arms.

"You ok?" Mello asks. Not really concerned, just interested in the details of the smack down.

"What the hell do you want?" He asked a little more aggressively, obviously embarrassed about being seen.

"Our cat," Matt started the lie, and held up the leash. "got loose and we saw him dash this way and into your house. Can we come inside to get him?" Leaning he whispers. "He tends to be nervous around strangers, and he bites and scratches."

The man looked them over like they were filth. "No."

He's closing the door, but Mello stops it with his hand. "Maybe we weren't clear enough, our cat is-.."

"Going to be soup if I catch it. You better hope its escaped by now," The man says. "I don't have time for this. Goodbye." He tries again to shut the door, but again there's resistance. "Look, do you want me to call the cops?"

"Do it, they'll be interested to know why you're so dinged up and apprehensive about letting us look for our dear kitty cat." Mello replies with a confident tone, while deep down he's hoping that the injuries came from an unsavoury reason, that will convince the man to comply.

There's a momentary stand-off, but when you've got a burn as nasty as Mello's, a 'death glare' projects a little harder.

"Get your dumb animal, then get out." The man adjusts his glasses before backing away from the door. "And make it quick."

"Thank you." Mello snipped with a snarky look as they passed through the front entrance.

The home is beautiful, big too!

The man stood and watched the two roam about the living room, looking for a cat that isn't there. Matt felt itchy with that hard gaze on him, and he knew they wouldn't get a moments peace to really _look_ with this guy breathing down their backs.

"I'll check upstairs, you look downstairs, Mel'."

"Okay."

"Why can't you two look together?" Asks the man, leaning casually- yet somehow like a predator- against the arm of the sofa with arms crossed, like he's waiting to call the two on their bullshit and call the cops right after. "God forbid fluffy slip by one without the other there, I don't wanna get scratched by your rabid cat or something."

"Look Mister..." Mello trails off.

"Mikami."

"Mikami. We wanna find our cat just as quickly as you want us to, and we can't do that by combing every room of this place together."

Matt marveled at how well his lover could lie on the fly, he wondered if he picked up any of that natural ability in all their years together.

"Fine. But be quick about it."

"Barkley! Pss pss pss pss!" Matt called out as he moved up the long staircase.

Mikami scoffed. "You named... a _cat_.. _Bark_ley."

"Tch, if you'd seen our cat you'd know why." Mello says moving into the kitchen. "He looks like a puppy."

Matt had a hidden smile on his way up the stairs, the last time someone asked about their cat it was told that it looks like Garfield from those comics they see in the newspapers, on those days when they'd pull one from the recycling to rest on. Walking upstairs, he definitely got a nervous chill in his spine. With the way he feels, he'd actually like to find a body hidden somewhere than to see that the place is squeaky clean. Somehow being the type to clean up after something messy went down is far worse than being the type to wallow in it like you like it.

Matt checked around in the bedrooms, the bathroom, and where he was impressed with the interior of the place, he'd found nothing even remotely close to Near or even Near shaped!

Shoving some clothes over in the closet, he took a deep whiff of the air. Its very... clean. Air freshened. Matt wondered what the need for cleaning was for? What smells were being covered up? There wasn't a hint of any kind of brown scent in the bathroom, so why the Alpine?

Dropping down, he looks under the bed. Shoe boxes, a tissue- a tissue? Why clean a house this well and miss one tissue?

_'You're reading too much into this Mail, guy's probably just a neat freak... but then, who beat him up?'_

"Hey."

Matt jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice. "What?"

"Don't steal anything."

"No, of course not."

"Mhm. Did you find the stupid thing?"

"I just turned in here," He stands. "This place is really nice. Clean too!"

"I'm a professional that way."

"Uh-huh, well, I'll go check the other rooms. Okay?"

"Go ahead."

"Right." He slipped out of the room, keeping quiet about pocketing the tissue. He hopes Mello was getting somewhere.

"Barkley, Barkley" He was muttering as he moved through the Better-Home-With-a-Garden, while tugging open this door and that.

He walked down into the basement, and the smell of bleach could choke a horse. Something was down here, or at least it _was_. Walking around the basement, he tries to figure out where the smell is coming from directly. If Near were here, there may be clues to show it. Blood. Body parts. His clothes. But when he tracked the source of the smell, all he found was a heavy mold spot in the corner of the room. Dude was probably just trying to battle it with the strongest disinfectant he could find. It sure is burning his eyes though.

He let out a cough, and continued looking around the boxes and bags down there. The guy must have had dogs. There are a couple of looped hooks in the wall with chains coming off of them, and a collar. Pretty cruel to put an animal in the basement with so much mold.

_'Probably why he doesn't have dogs any more.'_ Scoffed the blond. He'd seen- well, _smelled_- enough, and returned upstairs.

He hopes that Matt finished searching upstairs, because he was about to call it.

"He's not up there."

"I know, I just saw him duck out of here through the vent passage." And Mello called it.

"Shit." Matt replied full of false concern. He may not lie like a rug, but he can sell some acting like a pro.

"I'd cut my losses." Mikami says from behind Matt, and walking past him towards the door. "Now, if you'll please leave, I'm very busy."

"Right. Sorry to have bothered you." Matt replies to the rude shove-off.

The two walked out of the house and down to the street. When they were sure they weren't being eyed anymore, the red head removed the tissue for a better look at it.

"Gross. Is that used?"

"Yeah, but not with snot... look." He holds it in Mello's direction, knowing his lover wouldn't wanna touch it. "Blood."

"You think its Near's?" He asks skeptically. "Dude got the shit beat out of him, its probably his."

"Yeah, but you never can tell." He pulls out a nerve calming stick, then lights it up. "That place smelled like it had just been cleaned, and I saw vaccuum lines- like when housekeeping comes through the rooms in the hotel."

"So."

"Just a hunch, but people usually OD on scented things, or clean when they're trying to cover up another smell or stain..." He stuffs the tissue back into his pocket. "We need to see that L guy about it, he can do all that fancy forensic stuff that we can't."

Mello rubbed a former bruise just remembering that guy. "You do that, I'll take the next few houses up the street."

"I think we should wait until tomorrow, we don't want word getting around that we're snooping around every house for a cat... we have to give them some forgetting time."

"You may be right." Shoving him, then pulling him into him, he smiles and teases him. "Don't go getting all smart on me, _you're_ the second banana."

"I don't think so." Matt shoves him back.

The two turn around, and head back into the main part of the city.

...

Author's Note: The parts of this chapter that weren't exagerated they really pissed me off. I walked around all morning with a chip on my shoulder.


	7. Learning How to be Emotionally HAM

_We met with that guy L at the cafe we previously saw Light Yagami. We had the tissue with the blood sample, but little else._

_Honestly... I was beginning to think that we'd started looking for him too late, and Near was already dead somewhere... left with wonder if anyone had ever really cared about him, since he ended up where he was and had never been found before or after death._

Matt and Mello watch in muted horror of the detective, who's eating from a stack of little pecan cakes with great enthusiasm. It was as if the two young men weren't even there. And he isn't just stuffing them down his throat one by one, he's changing up the method in which he eats them by sometimes eating it whole, other times picking the pecans free to eat them first before devouring the cake, then there was the uncoiling the ring from itself, sticking a piece in his mouth afterwhich he began chewing it in, inch by inch. He broke one up and ate it bit by bit, and another he cut into squares.

He probably would have continued with this insanity had Matt not jabbed Mello with his elbow, and poked his puffed up cheeks with his index fingers, coaxing the odd man to talk.

"If you're implying that I'll pop, you're very mistaken." Monotoned the detective.

L doesn't even look up from the plate of cakes that he's now wriggling fingers as spindley as spider's legs over, while his eyes wondered which cake would be doomed to eaten extinction next.

"Now, onto the matter." Grabbing a cake, L eats this one from its nutty face down to its bare bottom. "Mmm.. mm. What have you gathered from your hunts?"

Matt, though embarrassed because he'd even thought that poking the man's gut would cause him to laugh like the Pilsbury Dough Boy, sobered up his comedic brain when reaching into his vest pocket, "We searched a house, and found this." then he drops the tissue onto the table top.

Enlarged eyes slid over to the thing. "Hardly sanitary, but it will be analyzed." Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a ziplock sandwich bag. It acted as a plastic glove protecting his hand from germs while he grabs up the tissue for analysis.

"Thanks. We're not sure if its Near's blood or the homeowner's, but the house we found it in the guy was really weird; and the place smelled like disinfectants... that was the one thing that seemed really out of place."

"Very good, stripes." He hands him a cake from his plate of sweets.

"Its Matt, actually, but thanks." He looks to Mello with a sort of pleased smugness, before he eats his reward with the same enthusiasm as the detective.

He and Mello have been so focused on finding Near they've been skipping meals; he actually picked the cafe in hope that L would treat them to a meal somewhere else, once he sees that they haven't ordered anything, or maybe he'd at least give them some money so they can get something to eat afterwards.

"The guy had a real chip on his shoulder, too." Mello adds, turning his nose up to Matt's smug expression. "His name is... Teru Mikami. I saw it written on his mail when he snuck upstairs to check on Matt."

"Do you think he was hiding something of importance that he was afraid would be discovered? Or was he simply itchy because two strangers were searching his home as a rouse to possibly cause him harm?"

"I'm not sure, but something got under his skin before we came over." He taps his finger on the cup rim of his triple shot of mochaccino. "The guy had the shit beatin' out of him, though, so I could see his thinking we were thugs." He takes a large gulp of his drink.

Mello really needed this chocolate fix too, its been ages since he's treated himself to a beloved _Hershey's _bar, a so-so _Nestle's_ bar, or even a mushy cop-out of a _3 Musketeers_ candy bar. He was sure that if he had a gun, he'd be trigger happy from the unintentional cold-turkey quitting of chocolate. The little white cup came to a pause before reaching Mello's lips again, because L caused the moment of pause when reaching across the table to dunk his sweet cinnamon and nutty flavored pastry into it. Momentarily stunned by this, he then took it upon himself to reach for a cake, since that seemed to be how things were going to go down, but his advances were promptly shut down when he's struck on the back of the hand by the man's spoon.

"Ow!" Mello jerked his hand back, rubbing it tenderly with the other. "What the hell?! I only wanted one."

"Sweets are earned." He casually says, right before handing one over to the blond street-walker.

"Oh what, 'cause I can take a crack to the hand I've earned a treat. I'm not a dog."

"Suit yourself," L reaches for the cake retracting it to his plate. "But that cake was given to you because you found out the man's name by looking at his mail. That'll help the police if the blood on this tissue didn't come from bruises on him."

"The blood seems too fresh, those injuries are days old... not too long ago, but, not from today in any sense."

"See... you're also very observant." Handing the cake back to its rewarded, L returns to his own pile to finish the last two of the sweets by eight collective bites between them. "I'm going to get in touch with someone who can help us on our field trip tomorrow. I've had an agent positioned in the online rings for a while, and he says there's going to be a gathering tomorrow. We're going to be there."

"All of us?" Matt looked green at the thought.

"Yes. I need enough men on the inside with me while we view the merchandise, and the two of you will fit in perfectly, along with an agent of my choosing from the beaurou. He's sort of freelanced with the department, and brilliant."

Mello thought of Light at that moment, wondering if he could get in on it?

"I'll need you more accessible to me than meeting up in this cafe." Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a card. "Here. Its got plenty of money on it. I need you to check into a hotel, any one of your choosing, then get yourselves something to wear. I don't care what you look like myself, but you can't look like the items in the display case."

Matt and Mello wide-eye the gold card in Matt's gloved hand. How could the man be so blase with this?!

Scoffing, Mello balks. "What makes you think we won't cut our losses with Near, and skip town with this thing?"

Drinking idly from his coffee, L then sets it down to lift one of his long fingers up for the pair to see. "One, I only used twelve percent of my actual strength on you when I thought you were trying to rob me." He extends a second finger. "Two, that card only has ten thousand dollars on it, so its not as if you could live off of it for the rest of your lives, and anywhere you spend it you'd be tracked instantly. And three," He raises a third finger. "the very fact that you've done all of this so far tells me that, though I made you perceive you could be trusted with a limitless gold card, you care very much about Near and will not stop your search for him until he's found... and no amount of money will deter you, right?"

Mello didn't need to answer that. The detective is right. He wants Near back. Near is ten thousand dollars. He needs him and Matt at his side. There is no going back to just the two of them, not when Near's leaving wasn't by his choice. Someone took him. If he had found better, he would have found some way to cut ties with them, to let them know that- even if he couldn't do a face to face out of guilt- he wanted them to know that he's doing all right. That was the only way he could let all of this go.

Blinking from his thoughts, he looks across the table to see L staring at him. He physically recoiled when seeing the man smile at him. It was out of place, and odd.

"I like to watch wheels turning... you've got many layers, don't you Mello." Expression returned to its more natural- neutral- state, the man gets up from his seat. "I'll see you both tomorrow then. Remember this number," He gives it to them. "call it once you've found a hotel, so I'll know where to reach you for tomorrow. And please, dress like someone who's at least got enough money to buy sex by the body, rather than specific activities... but not so well as to polar opposite your natural appearance."

"We've seen enough guys to know the dress code." Mello assured. Getting up from the table as well, he holds out a hand.

L eyed it, then pinching the younger male by the index finger he tugs his hand up and down. Then humming the song: 'Tomorrow', he exits the cafe.

"What're we gonna do now?" Matt looks over his shoulder, waiting until the very strange detective has left before speaking. "We're seriously going to the trafficking ring with this guy?"

"Hell yeah, we are. It's better than going alone like we'd planned." Mello looks down into his cup of cappuccino, having to pluck out a pecan before downing the rest. Setting the cup down, he pinches the excess from his lips. "Right now, we should try out a couple more houses. Its not that late yet, we can at least hit one more place."

"Should we split up?" He follows Mello to the door.

"Not a chance. If these sickos could get Near, we've gotta stick together."

_I really hate this part. ...He was there. He was right there! But... the walk was so far that we all missed each other. How did it happen? I'll tell you how it happened, that little idiot left to go shopping and since no one was home, Matt and I broke in._

By the time they reached the last house on their manhunt, its late evening.

"Do you see a car?" Matt asked looking around the area. "I didn't see one down by the street."

"Maybe this is the kind of place where you park in the back, or on the side."

Mello steps off the front entrance, and starts around to the side of the house. He kept his eyes forward, because if he looked left he was sure he'd get vertigo looking down the long row of stairs that lead up to the house and down to the street. He would be taking the hill back down to the street if he didn't think he'd slip on the grass, and wind up breaking his neck in the tumble.

The pair trampsed around to the back of the house, becoming cautious when approaching the fence. The homeowner could be in the backyard; but damn the house looks suspicious with its high fence, and its long stairway up. How could someone suspicious not wanna live in this house, its too obnoxious to deal with for anyone to wanna give it too much attention. Hell, they make movies based on creepy looking places like this. At least there are neighbors a distance away, you can just barely see the top of a house in the distance.

"Gimme a leg up." Mello places his hand on Matt's head, then looks down for the offered cupped hands to step in for his boost up.

Hoisting his friend up didn't take much effort, like mentioned earlier, the two haven't been eating much since the search began leaving them both four pounds under weight. Not that they've ever been at normal weight with the life they live, but now its starting to really show in their thin cheeks, and sunken eyes.

"See anybody?" Matt asks while looking around the perimeter for stragglers.

Wouldn't want the neighbors to spot them and call the police. Mello's unbalancing leg doesn't waste time in throwing itself up and over the, thankfully unspiked, wooden fence.

Looking down to where he'd left Matt he says. "I'll open the gate." And then to himself. "I hope this fucker doesn't have a dog." He then drops down into the yard.

A clack sounded as the latch is moved over, and a quiet scrape of a sound from the long fence door sliding through the grass; the axels on the fence are perfectly oiled to keep the gate silent. Pretty odd considering something so trivial as the sound of a gate opening is pretty common, so why the tender care for silence?

Matt enters the backyard and whistles lowly. "Inground. Hn... guys got some serious money."

"Or not... could have come with the house." Mello looks up towards the upstairs window. It felt like they were being watched for a second, but there's no one there that he can see. "Let's make it quick, but not too quick.. we don't wanna miss anything."

"You don't gotta tell me."

Kneeling down at the door, Mello picks the lock with ease. But upon giving the door a jerk, he found that it was stuck.

"Oh, come on."

"Losing your touch?" Matt laughed.

"More like I'd just locked it when it wasn't." Picking the lock again, he pulls the door open, being sure to stick his tongue out at Matt for doubting his skill.

The two walk into the home and are met with cool air like a punch in the face, but it isn't the cold air that gives them a chill as they walk farther into the house. Mello was the first to break free of the spell the place has over them, and he moves to a door tucked away in the corner of the kitchen.

"Geez, guys gotta lot of useless shit if he needs this many boxes in his basement." He closes the door after Matt looked in over his shoulder. "You search down here, I'll look upstairs."

Giving Mello a nod, Matt begins his search through the homeowner's office. Its full of the usual things of furniture: couches, side tables, coffee table. He's got a silver bar-cart full of wine bottles and glasses to drink it from. There are no pictures of loved ones, or even the homeowner. So whomever it is that owns the house must not give too much of a shit about theirself or anyone else.

Matt pulls open drawers and skims through mail, recalling that Mello copped a name off the man by looking at his mail. "Mail, mail, mail..." He looks around. No mail. "Whoever owns this place lives here like they're renting, there's nothing in here to give ownership." He says to himself.

The land-line seemed interesting, but then he didn't wanna *69 someone and alert suspicions that the home has been broken into, besides, who knows who it would call anyway. Muchlike the identity-free home, the number could call nobody.

_'If I had secrets... where would I hide them?'_ He wonders.

Entering the hall, he sees an open door that he'd passed on the way through to the livingroom. "Here we go, home office."

The books lined the shelves like polished trophies, though just by looking at them he can tell that they're owned but not used. The binding is too perfect, yet they have no dust on them. Whomever owns this place, they must do a little regular cleaning just as that Mikami guy. But, would he or she be as weird? On the large wooden desk is a three dipped letter holder filled with letters. Matt smiled to himself and scooped the stack up.

_'Stephen Gevanni.'_ He keeps to memory then puts the letters back where he'd found them.

This room at least has some sort of a personality. A globe that has little stickers on it for places the man has either been or would like to go, he's got a photo of a lovely woman in a wedding dress, probably his wife. Pictures of animals are on the walls, the couch seems more comfortable than the one in the livingroom, and then there's the abandoned bedroom slippers at the door. The man must be his most comfortable here.

_'Nothing here screams Near.'_ He thinks with a disgruntled huff.

Matt's mind suddenly wandered to a game he'd been playing, before it was stolen- though what it was stolen for is beyond him, anything for a buck when you live on the streets- anyway, in the game their mansion had a bunch of secret rooms in it whenever the character pulled on just the right object. Maybe something in here could be pulled to open a secret room?

And while Matt is pawing away at the office, Mello is upstairs rifling through dresser drawers. He's trying to be careful, but dammit, its hard to be cautious when the homeowner can come back at any minute! And so far he's found nothing even remotely close to a clue that Near would be here. Some pervy paraphernelia like a whip, or a friggin' Jack-in-the-box or something! Near's no kid, but he likes a good toy to keep him company and occupied, or whatever he likes them for.

He'd already searched one room, the guy seems to have a kid anyway. He's got clothes all neatly folded and hung up in the closet and dresser drawers. It just seems like a squeaky clean inside cursed with a creepy outside.

"Mattie! I hope you're getting somewhere, because there's nothing up here!" He calls down the stairs, through the hall.

"I'm not getting anywhere!" Matt called back up, his voice is faint like he's deeper in the home than the living room. "He's got a computer, though. I'm gonna check..."

His words are cut off from his moving away from the door.

Empty. Empty. Empty! Damn it! Why is there nothing here?! Not the house before, not the house after. Where is he!? Stomping his foot down in annoyance, he shoves the dresser drawer closed. Heading back down the stairs, he looks around for Matt.

"Anything?"

"Uh-uh." He shakes his head. "I've been trying passwords. Nothing's working, though..."

"Its a computer, what do you think you're gonna find?" Grabbing the back of the seat, he rests his other hand on the desk and leans over to look at the screen.

"I've been thinking about what detective L said, about online bidding. Maybe he's got some private videos... if nothing else. Look around, this place is as clean as that other guys, and he seemed to be hiding something. So maybe... Ahhh" He winks at Mello. "we have access."

"That's amazing! What did you type?"

"A bunch of numbers. This guy doesn't have one picture in his house of loved ones, save aside this snapshot of his wife. I figured he'd use numbers." He shrugs. "Let's seeee. Gross.."

"What?"

"If this were a phone the numbers would spell out U-N-D-E-R14."

"That is gross."

Both of them perked up... keys!

"Shit. Close it, close it!" Mello snatches Matt by the collar of his shirt, not allowing him proper time to shut the thing back down.

But who cares about that! They just need to get out of there; let the homeowner chalk the computer being left on up to a ghost. Nothing wrong with that. The pair tore through the home like lightning were at their heels; the back door was pulled shut so quickly it would be a miracle that they weren't found out by the bang.

Whoever walked into the house seemed to recognize what was going on, because they dropped what they were carrying in a panic and ran up the stairs. But Matt and Mello didn't see who it was, they just broke free from the backyard and hurried through away via the back area which is, luckily, level with the rest of the world and the two don't stop running until they hit their familiar streets.

Dropping down on their stack of old rags and newspapers, the two break into a fit of laughter over how close that was.

"Alright... that's enough living the survival horror of being a secret agent." Matt declares. "I'm hungry, and I'm tired... can we call it a day?"

"Yeah. Its getting dark anyway. No one's gonna let us in their house now."

8 8 8

Matt didn't even have to say it, Mello could see it in the saucer shape of his friend's eyes that the place is damned gorgeous. He's never seen anywhere so clean, so beautiful or expensive in appearance! L had said to stay anywhere they liked and they chose the Conrad Hilton, and have obviously done well by the decision. It was like the place was literally dipped in gold!

From the polished floors to the painted columns, and the mirrors are so clean you can actually see yourself in them! They felt hideously out of place and received more than a few cock-eyed glances to confirm their discomfort.

"We probably should have gone shopping first." Matt mutters from behind Mello, already shrinking away from all the attention.

"You kidding?" He says over his shoulder. "I don't have the strength to do that without having eaten first." He rubbed his eyes. "I'm really tired too."

"We don't have off-suite bathrooms for anyone but hotel staff." The desk clerk says when seeing the two standing before her.

"We'd like a room... one bed, two nights."

The woman didn't hide her doubt that the two couldn't pay for the room, and to ensure they'd leave she gladly tells them the price. "That'll be 388.00 dollars for two nights, and we don't accept bags of change, or coupons."

Doing a little cocky scoffing of his own, Mello slaps the gold card down on the counter top. "Book it."

The woman couldn't believe her eyes! A gold card! Hn. This thing is either stolen, or the two are wealthy and like to express themselves by dressing essentrically in slummish clothing, just for the shock factor... and it worked.

Her nose still went up, though; she grabs the card from the desk, very sure it will be declined. The two probably found it discarded in the trash, thought they'd take it for a little spin around town for a laugh. Ha! She should call the police incase the thing is stolen. Running the card through the reader, she's glad she wasn't being taken, yes, but now she's sure she has to call the police. But just to be sure they aren't just an essentric rich couple...

"There you are, two nights. One bedroom suite and- What's your name again?"

Very sly, she is very sly. Her tightly pulled, blonde, bun shoved back an inch when the corners of her mouth shot back into a smile.

"Name?" Mello repeats.

Why does that matter? No to mention, what the hell was that detective's lastname again? Come to think of it, what is his real given name? It seemed as though Courtney Emmerson, the desk clerk, planned on saying something smart but got interrupted by another clerk tapping her on the shoulder.

"Is there someone here named Matt and Mello?" He asks her.

"I'll check the sign in..."

"We're Matt and Mello!" Mello pipes up.

Although Matt has shrunken back so much, you'd swear he's wearing Mello as a coat.

"Do you have any identification to prove that?" The clerk asks, not believing for a second the two aren't just trying to get a room off of someone else's dime.

"The man on the phone says one is a blond with a burn scar on his face, the other a red head with goggles and stripes."

Ms. Emmerson had been avoiding that little facial feature on the blond, last thing she wanted was to openly stare and get into some sort of trouble with the street-tough looking young man. The man hands her the phone, and she listens to the man on the other end.

"Yes sir... and, thank you very much. We'll see that your nephews get the best care." Hanging up the phone, she's now smiling in earnest at them. "Here is your card key, its for room 509. Your meals will be in the indoor restaurant or on the terrace... its on us."

"Thank you." Smug as a billionare, Mello swipes both the key card and the gold card before heading off to the elevator with Matt in tow.

He doesn't know what L told that pretenious clerk, but he's glad he called when he had. But how did he know where they were? When the door dinged closed, it was as good as turning on a light. L had said that wherever they used the card, he would know. He must have tracked the room purchase and called to get them access, knowing that with the way they look they'd be under suspicion waving around a nice piece of plastic- even if its got a fixed amount of money.

More relaxed now that he's away from visual scrutiny, Matt asks. "Do you think they have room service?"

"You kidding? With the way this place makes such a big stink about having two restaurants, I doubt they want their lily white sheets ruined."

The hall is long, and golden just as the front lobby. Sconces line the walls beside the doors, a red, blue, and gold swirled runner lines the center of the hallway. The doors are white with gold numbering and knobs.

"...0-9." Looking the door over, he shoves the card into the slot.

"Wow." The two say in unison.

The white covers accent well with the rich brown wood and the clean cream marble floor. The bed is low and in a box-style framing, four large pillows rest on the huge bed and a throw lay folded at the bottom. Everything furnishing the room is no different than a normal hotel room, but the quality is exactly the price you pay for it.

While Matt began stripping down, Mello made himself busy with devouring the _**Dove**_ chocolates in a dish next to the stationary.

Snickering when he spins around in his indulgant sway of a dance, and spots Matt undressing before the red head pounces on the bed. Commenting on it, he says. "I'm starting to see why they don't like the homeless hanging around." Walking over to the bed, he looks down at the nude delight. "What's with the striptease, hot stuff?"

"I didn't want my filthy clothes sullying the bedding. It feels even better this way anyhow... we should sleep naked."

"We should shower first," He lays down on his side beside the daydreaming gamer. "then we can really put these bedspreads to shame."

Grinning, Matt chuckles when the tip of the chocolate square traces his lips giving him a brown lipstick appearance, that Mello licks and tenderly kisses away.

"Mmm. A fancy room, gonna have a shower, and a big meal. Are you treating me like a high price whore tonight, Mr. Keehl?"

Kissing Matt's exposed neck, he shakes his head then gets up from the bed. "Don't call yourself a whore, its not as if you wanna have sex with these guys." Pulling him up from the bed, he shoves him towards the bathroom. "Let's shower, then see if we can get room service instead of migrating to eat."

Shuddering, he requests. "Say it again," Matt is pushing the bathroom door open for them.

"Shower and food," He kisses against his neck as he speaks. "shower and food."

...

It has been so long since the two have sincerely felt each others' touches. They went from playfully scrubbing one another's back, to pecking kisses, and smoothing sopping wet hair from their faces. Their smiles are just small and weary from exhaustion build up. Near being snatched rattled them deep down, and knowing that their kind isn't normally cared about when they go missing, it makes it all the more frightening of the possibility that if it can happen to one it can happen to another. They're just lucky that their Near is chatty when it comes to the right people, or the police wouldn't give a damn, just like officer friendly back at the precinct.

And every kiss and every touch became fire. Suddenly a tender hold was a desperate grip, and their sweet kisses were toothy bites and stabbing, alchemic-style, sword fights with their tongues. The feverish steam in the room made their body parts a peep show from how the fog made them appear and disappear with their movement.

Matt pressed Mello into the wall, turning him around before parting his legs; his left hand caresses up his lover's torso, and his right is down between Mello's legs fondling his sacks while stroking himself harder in alternate. Mello rocked his hips back into Matt's crotch, coaxing him for penetration; self lubricated, Matt positions himself and promptly shoves in.

Mello voiced his pleasure of the roughness from the meager preparation, and lavished in the slow in and out until his body eased of its auto-precautioned tension. A rhythm was quickily established when Matt's hand, slick with soap, began stroking Mello's member up and down; the pressure of his grip tightening and loosening from base to head.

You'd think the wet wall were mimicking Mello's sex with the way its dripping beneath his fingertips that are pressed against it. A chill ran up his spine from the tip of his member tapping the wall whenever Matt shoved into him; despite the heat in the air, the shower wall is still pretty cool to the touch, and the hot/cold contrast is euphoric.

"Faster." Commands the blond.

Matt shook his head; "Hold on." pulling out, he turns Mello around, kissing him as he steers him towards the entrance of the tubs sliding door.

Its pulled open by the gamer, who then slides his hands up his lover's sides to raise his arms up over his head where he instructs him to grab a hold of the metal bar. When Mello's got a steady hold, Matt lifts the chocoholic up by his hips.

Securing his legs around Matt's waist, he tilts his head back and groans when his weight drops him down over the red head's stiffened meat again; Matt lifts his right leg up to rest on the rim of the tub, and once the position is stable, he rams him home with deep hard thrust that have both of them alerting the neighbors above them, below them, and beside.

The angles got Matt at an advantage when Mello's hip lifts up, allowing him to extend his tongue out to lick the taunting rod thumping up and down with their movement.

Mello practically sobbed at how good the gentle laps were, and hooking a leg up around Matt's shoulder, he physically begged for more.

Scooping Mello up from beneath his legs, he pulls him free from their attachment below to reconnect them together from above.

Matt sucked and lapped at two of Mello's several inches, while his hand jerked rapidly and slowly at the base; knowing that Mello's legs draped over his shoulders and the hold the blond has on the bar have him secured in place, Matt uses his other hand's fingers to play with his lover's entrance by brushing his fingers past it, and teasingly dipping them into it pulling out after a few spine tingling thrusts.

Mello's hips are moving at a rapid pace, he can feel himself getting closer, weaker... and at the first drop of his right leg, Matt lowers him back over his body, and pumps in and out of him again.

Kissing Mello's chest; he can feel the blond's hand between them when it brushes against him- Mello's jerking himself off at the same pace he's being hammered. Matt's teeth grazed Mello's perked nipple when his lover's inner walls clamped down on him, over and over, the gamer's thrust became stiffer and harder to do, and the two released in a cry that you couldn't tell who was harder drowning out the other.

Mouths together in a kiss; Matt helps Mello lower himself to stand on the tub's edge.

Damp, and in the fluffiest robes they've ever felt in in their lives, the two are surrounded by food on the large bed, devouring every thing down to the platter, or bone. They asked about room service and desk clerk Emmerson practically gave them the V.I.P treatment, whatever L said to her seemed to matter because this was Heaven. They even got dessert.

"Who makes an ice cream sandwich out of brownies?! This is amazing!" Mello declared once he's swallowed his Chocolate Lover's chocolate chip ice cream brownie sandwich cookie. Can you believe its even been dipped in chocolate?! Who dreams up this kind of wonderful? They either need to be thanked or killed because Mello will never be able to have it again, so he's being sure to pack it in.

Matt can't move past the deepest dish of Chicago pizza he's ever had in his life, it's lined with thin slices of sausage and pepperoni, coated with olives, mushrooms, ham, bacon, and more cheese than should ever be allowed on anything.

The menu bragged about its lowcountry foods and they endulged in collared greens and chicken fried steak with chicken flavored, cracked-pepper, gravy white sauce. And the maccaroni could put a kid in a coma. It was all cleaned up and put out in the hallway on its cart. After they'd climbed into bed, they found themselves joined at the hips again between the bedding and their parted robes, Mello connected into Matt this time, and they didn't stop their lovemaking until their eyes refused to stay open, and their bodies refused to move.

It was the first untroubled sleep they've had since Near's disappearance, and the two enjoyed it as their last. Tomorrow is going to be mental Hell...

_If rain during a funeral is supposed to mean something good, then what does it mean when you're about to throw yourself into the lion's den? I'm still washing that day off, but I'll never stop seeing all those images... for that kind of torture put on me, after what happened to my Mother and my Sister... I feel like I should love Near more, and be better at keeping him safe. But I lost a piece of my shell that day... it still hurts._

The sky is a dingy gray, perfect for rain but not a storm. It seemed as if the rain had already fallen though, since not a drop has left its massive sheet of grey cloud all morning or early afternoon, but without evidence its just a sky left in waiting. Kind of like Mello and Matt are waiting for the call that will give them the location to where the auctions are going to go on.

They did their shopping early in the day, buying clothes that suited their taste while still dressing like the men who pick them up, a lesser version. Not someone who could afford a living sex-toy without first saving up for it to be one great purchase.

Mello was the only one of the two able to eat anything for breakfast and lunch. Matt couldn't clear his head for it. He just continued seeing his Mother and little sister splayed out for all the world to see and ask no questions of, and do nothing about... His Mother who would sing in the car to help her scared kids get to sleep when assholes would come banging on the window to mock them for their situation, or ask for pussy- for fuck's sake... he had sex with her! His own Mother! Drugged up, and just as bat-shit out of his mind in an orgy and they... didn't even recognize each other.

His little sister, who used to call him Postman because of his name. She always liked to have oranges, not candy or cake, but oranges. It was so strange. He would use his John money to buy a bag and she would go through them whenever he went out. It calmed her, because even at that age, she got it. She'd sometimes write him greetings on the back window of the car when it snowed in the winter, just to cheer him up after some oldman used him as a play thing. And she died someone's play thing... he pimped himself out to keep his family all right... He could take it, he told himself while being driven into, but not them. Don't let it touch them. ...And fuck it, they disappeared just as Near has, but in their case there was no goodbye. He came "home" to an empty car.

God things were shit before he met Mello. The blond renegade was like a stepping stone, something solid and strong to hold him up while he flowed down the hot lava filled pits of Hell. And it really saved him, meeting Mello. He was ready to rile some people up, bad people... die in an all-out shooting. He'd steal drugs, be taken somewhere and put himself in a position where he wouldn't just be hurt and start physically getting better. He'd be dead. Plain and simple.

But Mello... he can't ever be away from Mello as he is from Near. That would be it for him indefinitely. Its why, even though his stomach making summersaulting knots, he took a big bite from a cheese burger that got shoved in his face, while he looked out over the gloomy city.

His thumbs are twitching, but he isn't in the right frame of mind to play a game... so he just let his thumbs play for him. They're playing like they have to map his emotions into a well of a place, where they can get caught in the pool and circulate around, and never be seen again.

The call came... it was time to go...

...

Matt was glad that Mello laughed first, it made him feel less guilty about laughing at someone who gave them a great deal of good last night. Pampering, a bed, and each other. He hasn't slept good in a long while with Near missing, and though his thoughts are heavy this morning, Mello's blissfull weight was much more last night, and it knocked him out cold.

"What are you wearing?" Mello asks. "You look like Rocky Balboa's coach." He points at the green, white veritcal stripe track pants, the grey hoodie, and the green ski cap to match the pants. "I thought you said to fit in?"

"I do fit in." There was that odd sort of out-of-place smile of his. "I'm playing the itchy guy in the corner, who tends to be missing a hand when a particularly good buy comes into view."

Matt couldn't hold his laughter to a snicker then, and he laughed in earnest as the look does seem to say that. He and Mello on the other hand look like ship-yard guys in blue and black jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie over their shirt slightly zipped to appear casual. Mello's hiding his face behind a ball cap, and Matt's got his goggles dropped on top of his unruly red hair.

"I've even got a cigarette." L adds pulling a white stick from his pocket.

"You smoke?" Matt wonders.

"No. Its actually a portable hookah pipe, but they're calling it an electronic cigarette." Handing it to Matt who always reeks of nicotine, he says. "Give it a try, it taste just like strawberries."

Taking the stick, he gives it a puff then blows out a stream of strawberry flavored smoke. "It does!"

"Mhm." Taking it back, L adds casually to Matt "You don't mind." while he wipes the end clean.

It wasn't a question of whether he minded, since he was actually being told not to mind. And to be honest, he doesn't mind. Its understandable afterall. If he were split in two and one half were normal, he wouldn't kiss this side of himself- especially since he can't see a doctor, he could be carrying anything- Mello too! He looked his lover over curiously, receiving the same sort of glance, when a familiar face walked up dressed in a suit and tie like he's got new money.

"Light? What are you doing here?" Mello more orders an explanation than he is actually asking the question. "How'd you find out about this place?"

"Guess that saves me the introductions," L looks between them. "Light is the freelance agent I spoke of. He'll be joining us today as the wealthy businessman, looking to free his sexual tensions of his prude for a wife." Pulling out another cigarette, he holds it out to the newcomer. "Would you like a 'character builder'?"

"Sure." He tucks it into his pocket for later. "Are you two sure you can handle this? Its gonna get pretty intense in there?"

"Of course we are!" Mello shot. "We're more hardened to this shit than you are, pretty boy."

"Hn." Scoffs the male.

"I'm confused about something..." Matt says.

"Questions gain knowledge, never be afraid to ask." L replies.

"If you guys know these things go on, why do you let them?" Matt asks. "Shouldn't they all be in jail instead of flooding the streets and taking more people?"

"Matt... every cop available has got the place surrounded. Thanks to my online informant this will be the second biggest trafficking bust in two years, there have been smaller ones... but we can only do so much, thanks to the internet. As far as these big flashy shows, they move around quite often and its hard to get a lock on them." He stuffs his hands into his pockets. "So if your question is why aren't we jailing anyone purchasing time with prostitutes its because they aren't the ones doing this. These people are much more crafty." He looks at the large abandoned convenience store.

It'll never be purchased again because its in a bad neighborhood and noone will shop here.

"...Even if this is stopped, even if we caught them all... if there's even the smallest sliver of indecency in someone who has found someone to be incharge of.. things like this will exist. And they're not sorry."

Even if L hadn't intended to do it, it stung Matt. He lowered his head when hearing a thick man clap his hands together. And everyone began to move inside of the building.

Its dark inside, one light is turned on spaced by another then another light is turned on. A once wide and spacious store is divided to look like many rooms at least four that they can see, and the center is just a big space. There's a room up some stairs that has mulitple televisions on AUD.

"Matt, you play video games, correct?" L asks.

"Yeah."

"I'll need you in the online room, up those stairs."

"Huh?"

"They'll be feeding videos in that room, buyers are tweeting bids for the merchandise on the screen. Your eyes will be quicker at watching all the screens in an instant. When someone is bought indefinitely, they change to another purchasing. Don't keep your eyes in one place, please."

"What will I do?" Mello asks, ready to be usefull in finding Near.

"I need you to work the room, ask questions casually since you'll be new at this." L cocks a very fine brow. "Do you know what to ask?"

Thinking a moment, he says. "If there are any returns. And if anyone is selling privately."

Nodding, he looks to Matt. "I'd prefer if you didn't speak, but you can ask which camera's have old feed. They often like to show-off the best videos as sort of an intice to buyers to try an online purchase, since these videos are shot when their doll is looking its best."

Matt felt green, but he nods.

L doesn't need to prep Light, he's very good at what he does. This is only his third raid but his work is impressive all the same. He managed to locate 4 missing children from a private seller or two. Kidnappers from home invasions, and one man the child's own Father. He'd been raping him, the kid planned on telling his Mother, and he sold him away for a fifty.

Murmurs fill the air when the first to auction came out and took a seat on the floor. Time to work.

8 8 8

Matt was going to have nightmares for the rest of his life. However brief his eyes flittered across the Near'less screens, he saw one more boy or girl being sexually abused. The worst part is that they were either crying in pain, or being forced to cry for more. Damn his memory, damn his luck for being the one given this task while the others sit in cozy seats watching live auctions of someone just sitting on a floor crying. He would flick his eyes across the screens, then snip his vision off to his lap. Its bad enough he has to see them, but there's also the Tweets popping up on the screen like spray from a sparkler, they're just every where and all over the place.

He scanned through the videos of old feeds where the 'prize winning' dolls are, but none of them were Near. When the monitors went AUD for a momentary break, Matt hauled ass having seen enough, when one of the prize winning featurettes had a young lady about 20 or so in age, but her face made her look at least 17, she had two guys in her front and one going in from behind. Matt had to swallow his vomit when she just rocked between them like a rag doll from blacking out from pain. Damn if she didn't look dead.

At least he did one job for L that didn't make him sick, he stuffed a little device into the computer he was seated beside, and that little attachment was going to follow the I.P. addresses of the locations that the tweeting viewers were watching from, so they won't escape jail either.

Matt was given twenty minutes of free time before the screens came on again; after the sellers have shifted out the videos for the next set of purchases in the range of 11-13. And he chose to use the bathroom. It wasn't hard to find when he's been spotting men coming out of it with their hands pulling up their _xyz_ as they so obviously had not been peeing. He braced himself and pushed open a door with a scratched off 'Ladies' painted on it from back when the place was a market.

He closed his ears to the whimpers of a twelve year old girl being forced to suck-off a stranger, who's got his hand gripping a knot of her hair so he can guide her with the speed of his choosing. He wasn't able to close his eyes fast enough, and the little red haired girl made his stomach churn more.

Its too different... its much too damned different being a prostitute for pay. He can have men buy time with him, these people, these "Dolls" don't get the choice. Their bodies are bought, their lives are ignored, and they're fucked mercilessly, taunted, beaten, told they're unloved and a nothing, that they should be lucky someone wants anything to do with them- LUCKY! As if being a fuck toy isn't bad enough; they have to be made to feel like they deserve it since they're worthless! And she's a red head... Why, God, is she a red head?! Piper had read hair, just like his.

_'Piper... Its been so long since I've even heard her name in my head.'_ He thinks. _'How many times was she beaten? How many times was she humiliated until she was brain washed enough to beg for it, and lie that she loves it? My sister... my Mother... they lead this life...'_ He can feel tears welling in his eyes, and worse than that he can feel his anger. His fists ball up.

They suffer until death gives them mercy, not a super hero, not man's hero like a fireman or a cop or even a fucking good samaritan! Not their heros... their parents. No... Death craddles them. He whispers "it'll be better here", and they go. And then they get splayed out, and dumped off for the world to reject them again, even after death, making their pain that much worse.

_'I'm gonna kill him..'_ Matt mantras as he walks over to the man, who's eyes are closed and sees nothing.

Out in the main room.

_'Look at this freak show.'_ Mello thinks when watching a man about his age take a seat on the floor. He looks drugged out of his mind, rocking and swaying, laughing and blowing kisses.

"Bet you didn't think you'd see me in the flesh." He joked with the viewers.

_'Weirdo... but he said they'd never seen him in the flesh.'_ Leaning over to a man beside him, he asks. "What's he mean by that?"

"Beyond wasn't off the street, he was, but you know.. he's been home grown for ever. Hn. Wonder what changed?" He crossed his arms, spreading his legs a bit when the man took his clothes off.

The room gave a cheer at the sight of skin. Mello sneered at the bruises, all shades and colors from different healing rates. How can they find that mangled piece of human existance attractive? Maybe if he were cleaned up.

_'He kind of looks like L.'_ He thinks sadly at the thought of this odd-ball being the King odd-ball's brother, finally found after all these lost year.

His mouth dropped open when the man performed fellatio on himself. Should giving yourself a blowjob even be possible?! What must his x-rays look like? He cocks his head to the left then the right taking it in.

_'Man... is Matt seeing this?'_ He wonders through his awe while looking around for his partner in crime. But instead of seeing him in the viewing room, he spots him flying out of the building. _'Fuck..'_

He went to get up, but L flashed him a dangerous glance before getting up himself; that sat Mello right back down.

_'What the Hell happened?'_ Mello wondered.

"Get the fuck off me!" Matt snaps at the undercover officer who grabbed him like he'd stolen something.

"He's with me." L says once he's safely out of earshot.

"I'm glad you're here, because-"

He didn't expect it, which kept him from dodging it, and the blow to the face knocked him down onto the cracked concrete.

"What do you think you're doing? I asked that you do one specific thing, and you leave because..." He trailed off for Matt to insert his explanation there.

Matt was momentarily dumb-founded. Was this towering 5'10" really the odd, sweets-loving, nice and chatty guy he'd met the other day? Or is it the brute who took it to him and Mello in the alleyway, and had the nerve to pretend it was self-defense?

"He was in there... this guy in the bathroom and my sister... she was so young and," He sniffles. "She didn't deserve it- none of them do!"

"Which is exactly why we're here doing this now!" He's got him by the collar, breathing down on him. "To save them, as many as we can..."

"There is no _saving them_... they're just gonna end up in a home somewhere, where it'll happen all over again. None of these victims are gonna be all right! Not any more..."

"No... maybe they won't. But I can at least hope that they will no longer have this. And that the memories will die down, if they cannot get better and go away." He releases his hold on the male's clothes. "I'd like to sugar coat the truth for you, but what good would it do?"

"But Piper-..."

"Would be insulted that you let her memory hinder you from saving your friend... but please, if you think its helping, continue doing nothing because its noble to be scared... but don't act as though its in the name of your sister."

He has to hold back the tears, because L is right. He's turned coward, the minute he got through with beating on the man that had the nerve to lay his hands- and any other part of himself!- on that young girl.

Mello would have been proud. He punched that guy so hard the leather on his gloves stretched out to ruined; he lost control of himself in there when he heard the snap of the man's head against the back wall, after his punch landed; the little girl shrieked and staggered to the farthest corner away from the violence. She had silently cried through watching the man take a knee to the groin several times, his bruised cock then met with the corner of the sink when he was tossed into it, and Matt balled his fist together and pounded down on his back like he were trying to bend his gut down into the dip of the porcelain sink he's laying over.

The man hollared at him "What the fuck is your problem, buy your own!" which earned him a ding to the teeth, when he was tossed to the side and tumbled through a stall door, where he hit the toilet with his mouth at an unflattering angle.

The tip of Matt's foot still hurts from shoving so many kicks into the tail bone of the man's ass. He street brawled to the nines when dunking his head into the toilet, giving it a flush only _after_ the man's thrashing began to slow. He should have killed him, he wanted to kill him... but he couldn't get arrested. Not when Near and others needed his help. But look at how he ended up when the adrenaline ran out. He fled. He grew cold, and scared, and wanted to get back in that big hotel bed, and pretend for another night that everything was all right.

"What is your name?"

Matt went to say "Matt" but he's cut off by L adding.

"Your _real_ name..."

"...Its Mail."

"Mail..." He stoops down to give him a face to face, and though he's no longer hollaring at him, his tone remains stern. "You can go through every Hell the world has got to throw at you... but you have to become stronger than it. ...Memories, good or bad, should become _strength_... not a self-made weapon. If you can't learn from your mistakes... than what good are you?"

Matt let the wind knock out of him through a long stream out of his nostrils.

"You're enduring this for Near, you're strengthened and fueled to do so by what happened to your family... Don't be a coward because your rock has gotten a little heavy. Wield it." Straightening, he holds out a hand to him. "You can come back inside, or you can stay out here... but stand up with your choice, and be accountable."

Matt thinks it over, when being pulled from the ground. What should he do?

"I'd better get back in there then," He says in a small voice. "The next auction is in four minutes."

L only blinked at him, then very carefully he removes a DumDum's cherry taffy. Matt scoffed at the insinuation; knowing L there's a lemon flavor in his pocket as well as he wondered which dumb-dumb he'd be nibbling on by the end of this thing.

"What happened to the man who earned those bruises?" He asks as they walk back into the building.

"Drowning in the filth he's made of his existance... unconcious from lack of oxygen, but not dead." He didn't need to add 'unfortunately' they both heard the implied ending.

Mello looked at his lover with wonder, but he got a nod from him that he's all right. The blond looked to where L was heading and saw the dim look of a bathroom when the door pushed open. He wished he could go up to the viewing room and ask what's going on, but he had to keep up his act of aloof newbie, learning the ropes.

This guy with the strange name was apparently a hot view on the online showcasing when it came to selling the end result of breeding them to perfection. That he can contort is probably the top selling point, Mello had just seen the young man give himself a blowjob, so he could only imagine what other things he can do. The wonder of why he was given up never came to light, though. Everyone, including Mello, just figured that the owner had grown tired of the older set and wanted someone newer, and younger; and less battered, in the spectators opinion.

"Congratulations number 433," Came a voice from an unknown place. "you've just purchased Beyond Birthday for 209,000 dollars."

Groans went up from the losers in the room; but the one man who'd bought him looked like he'd won the power ball on a triple digit lottery drawing.

Beyond, fully clothed after his showcasing, looked around the room then locked eyes with Mello. He made a face as if he'd seen him before, then looking at the man who'd just bought him he began to speak.

"Pryy̆de chas, koly vy dyvytesya nas v yakosti svoho Boha."

Mello frowned. It sounds Russian in approach, but the words are different. _'Must be Ukrainian.'_ So-much-so that he has no clue what's been said. But it sure as Hell is said ominously.

"I ty pomresh, pokhovanyyÌ† v hrikhakh vashykh."

L, standing in the back of the room, repeats his words softly under his breath. "A time will come when we are your God... and you will be buried in your sins."

It wouldn't be long then; he returned to his seat.

And 1 hour later the monitor feeds end, and the floor show has closed up... and the raid began in droves. There were screams, brawls, attempted fleeing, shots rang out outside, and cuffs were slapped on. The man in the bathroom, handcuffed to the toilet by L was taken in. The whole thing took nearly an hour to calm down, and another hour to get them all separated and carted off to the station. Its going to be very busy at the precinct today.

But through it all, they were left wondering... where's Near?

...

Author's Note: Beyond said what L repeated, hopefully. I'm using google translate, and I don't speak Ukrainian and I have no Ukrainian friends. So, fingers crossed the words are right.

**Yazoox**: Thank you, and whoop there it was ^_^

**Silent Reader J**: I'd say thank you, but since you're a silent reader and would like to remain as such, I'll say *gasp* Who said that?! _ ... _ ... ^_^ thank you.

Thank you to all silent readers always.


End file.
